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SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

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A 

PRACTICAL    HANDBOOK 

ON 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 


REV.  L.  E.  PETERS 

Sunday-school  CMissionary  and  Leader  of  Sundaf-school  Institutes 


PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

igco 


Copyright  1900  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society 


from  tbe  Societie'a  own  press 


TO 

!)♦  Z.  C.  ffarrow 

For  Twentjy-five  jyears 

PIONEER  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  MISSIONARY 

In  fVest  Virginia 


PREFACE 


These  lessons  have  been  prepared  in  compliance  with 
the  request  of  A.  J.  Rowland,  d.  d.,  Secretary  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society.  The  author,  as 
Sunday-school  missionary,  has  felt  the  need  of  such  a 
series  in  his  work  of  holding  institutes,  and  to  put  into  the 
hands  of  Sunday-school  officers  and  teachers  and  normal 
classes. 

In  the  original  plan  of  the  book  he  prepared  a  series  of 
lessons  on  the  facts  and  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  but  a  simi- 
lar work  was  in  the  hands  of  the  publishers  covering  the 
same  ground,  and  it  is  deemed  expedient  to  publish  only 
one  series  at  present.  We  recommend  students  of  this 
series  to  study  also  the  series  by  Rev.  Harold  Kennedy, 
entitled   "Lessons  from  the  Desk." 


INTRODUCTION 


1.  Pedagogy  is  the  science  of  teaching.  It  includes  the 
principles  and  methods  of  teaching,  and  may  be  applied  to 
teaching  of  any  kind  or  in  any  kind  of  school. 

2.  Teaching  is  causing  another  to  understand  (Neh.  8  :  8). 
The  Bible  is  the  best  book  on  pedagogics.  It  not  only 
tells  us  what  to  teach,  but  how  to  teach.  Christ  is  the 
model  teacher,  in  methods  as  well  as  in  truth  to  be  taught. 

3.  Sunday-school  pedagogics  is  the  application  of  the 
laws  and  best  methods  of  teaching  to  Sunday-school  work. 
The  object  of  these  lessons  is  to  present  these. 

4.  Suggestions  in  the  use  of  these  lessons. 

(i)  Personal  Study.  Let  the  text  of  the  lesson  be 
thoroughly  studied  and  the  outline  memorized.  Then  re- 
cite it  to  yourself  or  some  one  else. 

(2)  Normal  Class  Work.  Organize  a  normal  class,  to 
meet  once  a  week,  and  furnish  each  student  with  a  copy  of 
the  book,  and  have  the  lesson  recited,  as  in  school,  the 
teacher  placing  the  outline  on  a  blackboard  or  large  sheet 
of  paper  as  the  lesson  proceeds.  It  will  be  well  before- 
hand for  the  teacher  to  make  a  faint  outline  on  the  board 
that  cannot  be  seen  by  the  class  ;  then  trace  it.  This  will 
give  better  form  and  proportion  to  the  outline.  Drill  on 
the  outline  until  the  class  can  readily  repeat  it  without  the 
board.  The  teacher  should  not  be  confined  simply  to  the 
text  of  the  lesson,  but  be  free  to  add  additional  matter  and 
illustrations.  This  will  lighten  up  the  lesson  text  and  make 
it  more  interesting  and  impressive. 

5 


6  INTRODUCTION 

(3)  Normal  Lectures.  By  this  method  the  teacher  only 
uses  the  book  and  masters  the  lesson,  using  the  text  and 
outline  as  the  basis  of  a  lecture,  which  may  be  extended 
and  illustrated  according  to  time  and  circumstances.  This 
is  probably  the  best  form  to  use  in  Sunday-school  institutes 
and  conventions.  Here  only  two  or  three  lessons  can  be 
given  to  illustrate  the  whole  course,  recommending  the 
formation  of  classes  for  regular  systematic  study. 


CONTENTS 

FAGB 

Introduction 5 

PART   I 
How  We  Teach,  or  Methods  of  Sunday- 
school  Work ii-97 

I.  The  Sunday-school  Idea ii 

II.  Organization i8 

III.  Graded  Sunday-schools 24 

IV.  Supplemental  Organization 30 

V.  The  Superintendent 17 

VI.  The  Teacher 41 

VII.  How  to  Study  a  Sunday-school  Lesson  ...  50 

VIII.  The  Laws  of  Teaching 55 

IX.  How  TO  Teach  a  Sunday-school  Lesson  ...  66 

X.  Questioning 70 

XI.  Illustrations 78 

XII.  Methods  of  Review 83 

XIII.  Christ  the  Great  Teacher 88 

XIV.  The  Holy  Spirit  as  a  Teacher 94 

7 


8  CONTENTS 

PAGB 

PART   II 
Whom  We  Teach,  or  a  Study  of  the 

Scholar     98-128 

I.  Childhood 98 

II.  Boyhood  and  Girlhood 104 

III.  Youthhood no 

IV.  Manhood  AND  Womanhood 117 

V.  The  Scholar's  World 123 


PART  I 
HOW  WE  TEACH 

OR 

METHODS  OF  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   IDEA. 

Read  Neh.  8  :  i-8  ;  Matt.  21  :  23-32. 

The  Sunday-school  idea  is  the  idea  of  interlocutory 
(speaking  between)  teaching.  The  teacher  and  pupil  ask 
and  answer  questions,  make  statements,  and  talk  about  the 
truth  under  consideration.  It  is  the  school  idea  and  the 
school  methods  applied  to  Bible  study.  The  school  method 
differs  from  both  lecture  and  preaching  methods,  and  is  es- 
pecially adapted  to  the  instruction  of  children  and  youth. 
It  may  be  otherwise  defined  as  the  catechetical  method. 

The  Sunday-school  idea  is  the  Bible  idea  of  teaching. 
The  word  ' '  teach  '  *  occurs  more  frequently  in  the  Bible 
than  the  word  "preach."  This  idea  may  be  traced  all 
through  biblical  and  ecclesiastical  history.^ 

I.    The  Sunday-school  Idea  hi  Bible  History. 
Calling  to  our  aid  ancient  history  and  Jewish  tradition, 
the  idea  may  be  definitely  traced. 

1  For   a  full  discussion  of  the   subject,  see  Trumbull's  "  Yale  Lectures  on 
Sunday-schools,"  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  main  facts  of  this  lesson. 


lO     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

1.  Rabbinical  Traditiojis.  The  rabbis  say  that  Methuse- 
lah taught  school  before  the  flood  and  after  it  Eber  ;  that 
Abraham  was  a  student  of  the  Torah,  and  that  he  took  les- 
sons on  the  priesthood  from  Melchisedek  ;  that  Jacob  went 
to  the  Bible  scliool ;  that  Moses  was  at  the  head  of  a  great 
school,  and  that  because  Joshua  was  such  a  good  pupil  he 
made  him  his  successor.  They  say,  moreover,  that  the 
great  victory  of  Deborah  and  Barak  enabled  them  to  open 
the  Bible  schools  which  the  Canaanites  had  closed. 

2.  Rays  of  Light  from  the  Old  Testainent.  Gen.  14  :  14 
shows  that  Abraham  had  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
trained  servants  in  his  household.  "Trained,"  or  "in- 
structed," as  it  is  in  the  margin,  conveys  the  idea  of  a 
school.  2  Chron.  17  :  7-9  shows  that  Jehoshaphat  sent 
priests  and  Levites  through  the  country  who  "taught  in  Ju- 
dea,  having  the  book  of  the  law  with  them,"  and  through 
country  and  city  "  taught  the  people."  They  simply  held 
Bible  institutes.  (See  also  Deut.  31  :  12.)  Neh.  8  :  1-8  is  a 
good  description  of  a  Sunday-school.  We  find  in  it  the 
place,  organization,  superintendent,  teachers,  devotional  ex- 
ercises, and  class  work.  Ver.  8  gives  us  the  best  definition 
of  teaching  that  caiflJis  found.  The  teachers  "caused  them 
to  understand  the  reading."  Teaching  is  causing  another 
to  understand. 

3.  Light  from  Contemporary  History.  Josephus  claims 
that  from  the  times  of  Moses  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Jews 
to  assemble  every  Sabbath,  not  only  to  hear  the  law  read, 
but  "to  learn  it  accurately."  Philo,  antedating  Josephus 
about  seventy-five  years,  calls  the  synagogues  "  houses  of 
instruction,"  or,  as  we  would  say,  "schoolhouses."  Trum- 
bull says,  from  80  b.  c.  to  a.  d.  65,  schools  were  established 
throughout  Palestine  and  teachers  were  appointed  in  every 
principal  town.  The  evidence  of  Jewish  schools  is  the  evi- 
dence of  the  school  idea  as  applied  to  religious  instruction. 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    IDEA  I  I 

The  method  in  these  schools  was  substantially  the  Sunday- 
school  method.  In  the  primary  grade,  from  five  to  ten 
years  of  age,  the  work  was  learning  the  simple  text  of  Scrip- 
ture. After  this  the  Jewish  commentaries  were  studied. 
The  work  was  laid  out  in  courses  of  study,  and  the  schools 
were  graded.  The  method  of  teaching  was  interlocutory, 
and  great  importance  was  attached  to  these  schools  by  the 
Jews.  Jewish  schools  for  Bible  study  were  regarded  as  the 
life  of  the  nation.  "  If  you  would  destroy  the  Jews  you 
must  destroy  the  schools,"  was  a  maxim. 

4.  This  Sunday-school  Idea  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  system  of  schools  mentioned  above  was  in  vogue  in 
Palestine  in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  and  it  has  been  inferred 
that  he  attended  them  while  "subject  to  his  parents"  in 
Nazareth.  We  see  him  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  "  in  the 
midst  of  the  doctors  (teachers)  asking  and  answering  ques- 
tions." Christ  was  an  itinerant  teacher,  for  Matthew  says 
he  ' '  went  about  in  all  Galilee  teaching  in  their  synagogues. ' ' 

Christ' s  method  of  teaching  was  chiefly  the  interlocutory. 
We  have  only  two  continued  discourses  recorded  as  coming 
from  him,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  his  farewell  ad- 
dress to  his  disciples.  But  we  have  many  interlocutory 
lessons  recorded.  Study  Matt.  21  :  23-32  with  this  idea  in 
view.  The  Gospel  of  John  is  a  series  of  "conversations  of 
Jesus,"  as  it  has  been  not  inappropriately  called.  The 
Great  Commission  is  given  in  the  phraseology  of  inter- 
locutory teaching,  "Go  teach,"  make  disciples  or  learners, 
"train,"  etc. 

Not  only  Christ,  but  the  apostles,  largely  followed  the 
interlocutory  method  of  instruction.  "They  ceased  not  to 
teach  and  preach  Jesus"  (Acts  5  :  42)  ;  "  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas continued  in  Antioch,  teaching  and  preaching  the  word 
of  the  Lord  (15  :  55)."  Paul's  custom  was  to  go  into  the 
synagogue  on  the  Sabbath  and  teach  and  preach.     Thus  in 


12  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

the  days  of  Abraham,  Moses,  Ezra,  Christ,  and  the  apos- 
tles, the  Sunday-school  idea  prevailed  to  a  large  extent 

//    The  Sunday-school  Idea  in  Ecclesiastical  History. 

In  the  first  two  decades  of  Christianity,  when  most  of  its 
converts  were  from  the  Jews,  it  would  be  natural  for  them 
to  follow  the  synagogue  method  of  teaching  ;  but  when 
Gentile  communities  were  reached,  there  would  be  some 
modification  of  methods,  yet  the  catechetical  method  largely 
prevailed.  Baron  Bunsen  says:  "The  apostolic  church 
made  the  school  the  connecting  link  between  herself  and 
the  world."  So  popular  and  influential  were  the  Christian 
schools  in  the  fourth  century,  that  Julian  the  Apostate 
issued  an  edict  suppressing  Christian  teachers  from  the 
schools,  which  he  sought  to  take  under  his  control.  Chris- 
tians were  persecuted,  and  accused  of  propagating  their 
cause  by  getting  the  children  into  their  schools. 

Schaff,  in  his  "History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  makes 
this  significant  statement,  which  shows  the  value  of  inter- 
locutory teaching  : 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  after  the  days  of  the  apostles 
no  names  of  great  missionaries  are  mentioned  till  the  open- 
ing of  the  Middle  Ages.  .  .  There  were  no  missionary  socie- 
ties, no  missionary  institutions,  no  organized  efforts  in  the  Ante- 
nicene  age  ;  and  yet  in  less  than  three  hundred  years  from  the 
death  of  St.  John  the  whole  population  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
which  then  represented  the  civilized  world,  was  nominally  Chris- 
tianized. 

This  marvelous  success  is  attributed  to  the  use  of  the 
Bible  method  of  teaching.  This  Sunday-school  method 
was  largely  followed  in  the  first  three  centuries.  The  great 
teachers  of  these  early  centuries,  as  Clement,  at  the  head  of 
the  Alexandrian  School,  Origen,  and  Augustine,  all  attribute 
their  success  to  catechetical  teaching. 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    IDEA  1 3 

From  a  survey  of  ecclesiastical  history  from  the  days  of 
Christ  and  the  apostles  we  glean  the  following  summary  re- 
specting the  value  and  influence  of  the  Bible  idea  of  teaching  ; 

1.  Bible  facts  were  most  effectively  lodged  in  the  mind, 
and  practical  truths  impressed  on  the  heart,  by  this  method 
of  teaching. 

In  the  ecclesiastical  records  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  cen- 
turies illustrations  abound  showing  that  large  portions  of 
the  Bible,  and  in  some  instances  the  whole  Bible,  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  have  been  memorized.  It  is  also  a  recog- 
nized fact  in  ecclesiastical  history  that  the  highest  and 
purest  types  of  Christian  life  are  found  where  Bible-schools 
prevailed.  This  is  the  secret  of  that  type  of  life  found 
among  the  Albigenses,  Waldenses,  Lollards,  or  Wycliffites, 
and  the  Bohemians. 

2.  When  the  catechetical  teaching  has  been  supplanted 
by  ritualism,  piety  declined  and  a  fossilized  formalism  took 
its  place. 

Just  in  proportion  as  the  Sunday-school  idea  was  ignored 
or  recognized,  declension  or  advancement  followed,  and  the 
church  lost  or  gained  spiritual  power.  This  fact  is  most 
forcibly  illustrated  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies, when  there  was  a  decline  in  interlocutory  teaching  in 
Protestant  Europe,  Great  Britain,  and  America.  The  ra- 
tionalism that  followed  the  French  Revolution  swept  over 
Germany.  England  had  reached  probably  her  lowest  point 
in  moral  tone  and  the  waves  of  these  corrupt  waters  were 
beginning  to  sweep  over  the  new  world.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century  and  first  of  the  nineteenth,  great 
revivals  broke  out  under  Zinzendorf  in  Germany,  Wesley 
and  Whitefield  in  England,  and  Edwards  and  Whitefield 
in  America.  With  these  came  the  revival  of  interlocutory 
teaching,  and  the  Sunday-school  idea.  During  this  period 
Robert  Raikes  began  his  work  at  Gloucester,  England. 


14  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

3.  While  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  sermonic  form 
always  has  been,  and  always  will  be,  the  greatest  power  in 
Christianity,  history  shows  that  it  must  be  sustained  by  in- 
terlocutory teaching.  It  was  preaching,  faithful,  earnest, 
warm-hearted,  majestic  preaching,  that  brought  about  the 
great  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  ;  but  it  was  the 
faithful  teaching  which  followed  that  sustained  it  From 
such  teaching  the  Reformation  obtained  its  best  fruits. 
Rome  was  quick  to  learn  this  lesson  from  the  Reformation 
and  returned  to  the  school  idea  ;  and  the  secret  of  her 
power  to-day  is  not  so  much  her  pulpit  as  her  parochial 
schools. 

4.  The  Sunday-school  idea  practically  applied  has  had 
great  influence  in  national  reforms  and  national  prosperity. 
Lord  Mahon  points  to  the  Sunday-school  as  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era  in  the  national  life  of  England  in  the  days  of 
Robert  Raikes.  Green,  the  English  historian,  speaking  of 
the  dark  days  following  the  American  Revolution,  just  after 
the  beginning  of  Raikes'  work,  says  :  "It  was  then  that 
the  moral,  the  philanthropic,  the  religious  ideas  which  have 
molded  English  society  into  its  present  shape,  first  broke 
the  spiritual  torpor  of  the  eighteenth  century." 

John  Bright  attributes  much  of  the  good  of  millions  of 
England' s  people  to  Sunday-schools.  Sunday-schools  led 
to  penny  postage  in  England,  and  paved  the  way  to  the  or- 
ganization of  British  Bible  and  missionary  societies.  What 
Sunday-schools  have  done  for  England  they  have  done,  and 
much  more,  for  America.  Says  Trumbull:  "America  has 
been  practically  saved  to  Christianity  and  the  religion  of 
the  Bible  by  the  Sunday-school." 

5.  The  great  men  of  the  world  have  been  identified  with 
and  advocated  the  Sunday-school  idea.  We  have  seen 
how  inspired  men,  in  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament, 
taught  and  advocated  teaching.     In  Christian  history,  men 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL    IDEA  15 

of  all  the  leading  professions  and  callings  have  been  advo- 
cates of  the  Sunday-school  idea.  When  Celsus,  the  pow- 
erful enemy  of  Christianity,  accused  Christians  of  advan- 
cing their  cause  by  getting  hold  of  the  children  in  their 
schools,  Origen,  in  his  reply,  admitted  the  charge,  but 
showed  how  the  children  were  improved  and  benefited  by 
the  teaching.  St.  Francis  Xavier  said:  "Give  me  the 
children  until  they  are  seven  years  old  and  any  one  may 
have  them  after  that."  Luther  said,  "For  the  church's 
sake,  Christian  schools  must  be  established  and  main- 
tained," and  wrote  a  catechism  for  the  use  of  his  people. 
Bishop  Andrews,  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  the  study  of 
ecclesiastical  history  found  that  interlocutory  teaching  was 
the  secret  of  the  church's  success.  Scotch  and  English 
church  councils  have  declared  in  favor  of  it.  In  later  days, 
such  men  as  Lyman  Beecher,  Francis  Wayland,  E.  N. 
Kirk,  Doctor  Doddridge,  Albert  Barnes,  and  many  others, 
have  been  the  warmest  advocates  of  Sunday-schools.  To- 
day we  have  men  of  all  ranks  and  professions,  from  the 
president  of  the  United  States  down,  actively  engaged  in 
Sunday-school  work.  The  Sunday-school  idea  has  grown 
into  such  vast  proportions  in  organization  and  methods  of 
work  that  at  present  it  encircles  the  entire  Christian  world. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    IDEA    IN 

r  I.   Rabbinical  Tradition 
T    -n-i-i     tT-  *  2.  The  Old  Testament 

L  Bible  History    ^    ^    Contemporaneous  History 

I   4.  The  New  Testament 


II.  Ecclesiastical 
History 


1.  Effective  in  Early  Centuries 

2.  Catechetical  Teachings  vs.  Ritualism 

3.  To  Sustain  Preaching 

4.  In  National  Reforms 

5.  Advocated  by  Great  Men 


1 6     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

II. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Definition.  Organization  is  systematic  preparation  for 
work,  or  the  systematic  arrangement  of  the  several  parts  of 
a  whole  so  that  each  part  contributes  to  the  object  of  the 
organization.  The  organization  of  a  Sunday-school  is  the 
arrangement  of  all  its  component  parts  and  exercises  in  the 
best  way  to  accomplish  the  greatest  good  upon  the  part  of 
the  school  as  a  whole.      It  may  be  well  to  study  first  : 

/    The  Principles  of  Organization. 

There  are  fundamental  principles  that  are  essential  to  the 
proper  and  complete  organization  of  any  body. 

I.  Purpose.  Organization  is  not  undertaken  for  its  own 
sake,  but  has  a  purpose.  Each  part  also  has  its  purpose. 
The  human  body  is  an  organization  as  a  dwelling-place  and 
convenience  of  the  human  soul  while  in  this  present  state 
of  existence,  and  each  part  of  the  body  is  organized  for  a 
given  purpose,  as  the  eye  for  seeing,  the  ear  for  hearing 
the  foot  for  locomotion,  the  hand  for  handling,  etc.,  yet 
all  work  together,  animated  by  a  common  purpose  and 
toward  a  common  end. 

2.  The  organization  must  conform  to  the  purpose  in 
view.  No  one  would  organize  an  army,  an  engineer  corps, 
a  steamer's  crew,  a  "gang"  of  railroad  men,  a  set  of  har- 
vest hands,  or  a  business  corporation  alike,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  they  are  to  accomplish  different  ends.  Each 
should  be  organized  for  the  special  end  in  view. 

3.  Organization  is  a  means,  not  an  end.  The  reason 
why  so  many  organizations  fail  is  not  because  the  organiza- 
tion is  not  good,  but  because  it  is  not  properly  employed. 
Organization  is  simply  preparation  for  work,  and  when  the 
organization  is  complete  the  work  should  begin. 


ORGANIZATION  1/ 

4.  Organization  means  division  of  labor.  Each  part 
does  what  no  other  part  can  do.  The  eye,  the  ear,  the 
foot,  the  hand,  as  well  as  every  other  organ  of  the  body, 
has  each  its  specific  functions  (i  Cor.  12  :  12-20).  Organi- 
zation seeks  to  find  the  right  part  for  the  right  place  and 
properly  adjust  it  in  relation  to  the  other  parts  in  the  whole. 
When  the  organization  is  composed  of  men,  women,  and 
children,  there  must  be  such  a  division  of  labor  that  each 
one  will  be  placed  where  he  can  contribute  most  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  whole. 

5.  The  power  of  organization  is  unity.  "How  should 
one  chase  a  thousand  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight  ?" 
(Deut  32  :  30.)  By  an  organization  which  has  God  behind 
it  as  its  life-giving  power.  If  each  part  works  out  of  har- 
mony with  the  other  parts  the  friction  lessens  the  power  ; 
but  when  all  work  together  the  power  is  increased.  When 
each  part  of  the  organization  has  a  will  of  its  own,  as  in 
any  organization  of  human  beings,  one  purpose  must  domi- 
nate all.  Then  the  organization  is  a  power,  while  otherwise 
it  will  soon  become  a  failure.  This  makes  it  especially  neces- 
sary in  the  organizations  of  human  beings  that  the  body 
have  a  head,  one  whom  all  will  joyously  follow.  The 
achievements  of  an  organization  are  often  due  to  the  leaders 
more  than  to  any  other  cause.  Obedience  here  is  the 
principle. 

6.  Flexibility  is  also  a  fundamental  principle  in  organiza- 
tion. The  hand  has  a  unity  in  its  organization,  yet  it  is  so 
flexible  that  it  can  be  turned  from  the  simplest,  crudest 
labor  to  a  work  demanding  the  utmost  delicacy  and  skill. 
If  it  becomes  stiffened  by  age  or  disease,  it  loses  the  deft- 
ness it  possessed.  So  with  an  organization  ;  it  must  be 
fitted  to  the  end  to  be  accomplished,  and  it  must  preserve 
intact  its  capacity  to  attain  that  end.  If  it  becomes  weak- 
ened by  disuse  or  dissensions  it  must  fail. 

B 


1 8     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

7.  Finally,  organization  implies  life.  It  is  essential  both 
to  its  formation  and  perpetuation.  Aristotle  said,  "  Life  is 
the  cause  of  organisms. ' '  Take  away  the  life  and  the  or- 
ganization dissolves.  Take  the  life  from  the  human  body 
and  it  becomes  dust. 

Especially  is  the  principle  true  and  essential  in  the  or- 
ganization of  religious  bodies  as  churches  and  Sunday- 
schools.  If  the  organization  is  social,  then  a  social  spirit 
or  life  will  support  it  ;  if  it  is  political,  a  political  spirit  or 
life  will  sustain  it  ;  and  if  it  is  Christian,  a  Christ  spirit  or 
life  must  dominate  it,  or  it  will  die  as  a  distinctive  Christian 
organization.  It  may  exist  as  a  social  compact,  but  like  the 
church  of  Laodicea,  it  may  ' '  have  a  name  to  live,  but  be 
dead."     See  Ezekiel's  vision  of  dry  bones  (Ezek.  37  :  1-14). 

IL    These   Principles  Applied  to  the   Orgatiization  of  the 
Sunday-school. 

This  brings  us  at  once  to  consider  : 

1.  The  purpose  of  the  Sunday-school.  This  must  be 
clearly  understood  before  we  can  proceed  to  form  an  organ- 
zation.  This  purpose  is  four-fold,  (i)  To  give  instruction 
in  the  Bible.  (2)  Through  this  instruction  to  lead  persons 
to  Christ.  (3)  To  develop  in  these  persons,  who  have  been 
led  to  Christ  and  have  accepted  him,  a  symmetrical  Chris- 
tian character,  and  (4)  To  train  them  for  efficient  and  use- 
ful service. 

2.  The  organization  of  the  school  must  conform  to  this 
four- fold  purpose,  (i)  As  the  first  great  aim  is  to  give  in- 
struction in  the  Bible,  the  organization  must  be  a  school, 
with  such  facilities  as  are  necessary  to  give  this  instruction. 
(2)  As  its  second  aim  is  to  bring  persons  to  Christ,  it  must 
be  a  school  of  Christ,  with  teachers  who  have  been  to 
Christ  themselves.  (3)  As  its  pupils  are  to  be  built  up  in 
Christian  character,  its  teaching  and  influence  must  all  be 


ORGANIZATION  1 9 

turned  in  that  direction.  (4)  As  it  is  to  train  for  useful- 
ness, it  must  have  a  distinctively  training  department  for 
the  preparation  of  teachers,  that  it  may  become  self-perpet- 
uating. 

3.  As  the  school  is  a  means  and  not  an  end,  it  must : 
(i)  Constantly  replenish  its  spent  energies,  keep  down  fric- 
tion, and  keep  the  organization  intact,  always  ready  for  the 
best  service  and  results.  (2)  It  must  not  consider  its  work 
as  done  so  long  as  it  can  find  one  person  to  lead  to  Christ, 
and  whom  it  can  develop  and  train. 

4.  As  organization  means  division  of  labor,  the  greatest 
care  should  be  taken  to  get  the  right  persons  in  the  right 
place.  Some  persons  who  make  splendid  secretaries,  treas- 
urers, or  librarians,  would  be  failures  as  teachers,  while  the 
converse  is  likewise  true.  In  the  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple, assign  work  to  the  worker  that  (i)  He  wants  to  do  ; 
(2)  That  he  can  do  ;  or  (3)  That  he  is  willing  to  learn 
to  do. 

5 .  Since  unity  is  an  essential  principle  in  organization, 
in  its  application  to  the  Sunday-school,  it  must  have  :  (i) 
An  organization  preceding  and  dominating  it  in  order  that 
there  shall  be  unity  and  harmony  in  its  teaching.  This 
preceding  and  dominating  organization  is  the  church, 
which  must  organize  the  school  as  a  department  of  church 
work,  by  selecting  the  superintendent  and  other  officers,  or 
at  the  least  by  approving  them.  (2)  These  other  officers 
then  become  the  superintendent's  cabinet,  to  unify  the  man- 
agement of  the  school ;  and  he  should  have  (3)  a  teachers' 
meeting,  to  unify  the  teaching  and  keep  it  in  harmony  with 
the  standards  of  the  church. 

6.  Variety.  Since  flexibility  is  a  principle  in  organiza- 
tion, the  organization  of  the  Sunday-school  should  be  such 
as  to  give  the  greatest  variety  in  its  movements.  No  un- 
yielding constitution    should  be  adopted.     Its  government 


20  HANDBOOK   ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

should  be  more  by  principles  than  rules.  The  order  of  ex- 
ercises should  be  varied  and  changed  from  time  to  time  as 
necessity  requires.  The  various  departments  should  have 
ample  liberty  and  latitude. 

7.  As  organization  implies  life,  the  most  systematic 
and  complete  will  fail  without  it.  The  organization  of  the 
Sunday-school  must  have  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  vital  power. 
The  life  of  Jesus  Christ  in  officers  and  teachers  will  insure 
the  Holy  Spirit's  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work. 

///   A  Suggestive  Organization. 

We  say  suggestive,  because  no  one  can  in  his  study  or- 
ganize every  Sunday-school  that  should  be  formed  in  the 
country.  The  organization  in  its  details  must  vary  with 
circumstances.  We  must  have  in  nearly  every  school  some 
such  organization  as  the  following  : 

1.  The  Scholars.  "Men,  women,  and  children,  all  who 
can  understand"   (Neh.  8  :  3), 

2.  Officers.  Pastor,  superintendent,  assistant  superin- 
tendent, secretary,  treasurer,  chorister,  organist,  librarian, 
chalk-talker,  and  committees  for  special  work.  These 
should  be  appointed  or  approved  by  the  church,  except  the 
committees. 

3.  Teachers.  These  should  be  appointed  by  the  super- 
intendent and  officers  in  consultation  with  the  pastor. 

4.  Classijication.  There  are  usually  four  grades :  Pri- 
mary, intermediate,  advanced,  and  adult,  according  to  age 
and  attainment.  (This  will  be  fully  considered  in  the 
lesson  on  grading.) 

5.  Course  of  Study.  We  must  have  a  course  of  study. 
There  may  be  more  than  one  course  of  study  pursued  at  the 
same  time,  (i)  The  international  uniform  lesson  series. 
(2)  A  course  of  supplemental  lessons.  (3)  A  normal  course 
for  teachers.     (4)  A  catechetical  or  doctrinal  course. 


ORGANIZATION 


I. 

Principles 


Application 
to  S.  S. 


III. 

Suggested 

Form 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

ORGANIZATION 


Purpose 
Conformity  to 
Means  not  End 
Division  of  Labor 
Power  of  Unity 
Flexibility 
Life 


I.  Purpose  Fourfold 


2.  Conformity  in 


As  a  Means 


4.   Assign  to  Worker 


5.   Unified  by 


1.  Give  Instruction 

2.  Lead  to  Christ 

3.  Develope  Character 

4.  Train  for  Service 

I.  Being  a  School 


{I 


A  School  of  Christ 
Trend  of  Teaching 
Training  Departm't 

Repl.  Spent  Energies 
Never  Stop. 

What  Wants  to  Do 
What  Can  Do 
What  Learn  to  Do 

Church  as  Basis 
Sup'ts  Cabinet 


3.  Teachers'  Meeting 

6.  Flexibility  by  Lib.  of  Depts.  and  Vari.  Ex. 

7.  Life  from  Holy  Spirit 

1.  The  Scholars  (Neh.  8:3). 

2.  Officers:  Pas.,  Supt.,  As.  Supt.,  Sec,  Treas., 

Org.,  Chor.,  Lib.,  Ch.  T.,  Com. 

3.  Teachers  :  App.  by  Off.  and  Pas. 

4.  Classification  :   Pri.,  Int.,  Adv.,  Adult 

{I.  International 
3.-  ST'""' 
4.  Catechetical  or  Doctrinal 


22  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

III. 

GRADED   SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 

In  the  organization  and  management  of  Sunday-schools, 
two  essential  characteristics  must  be  kept  in  view,  viz, 
that  the  Sunday-school  is  both  a  religious  assembly  and  a 
school.  Neither  must  be  neglected  or  sacrificed  for  the 
other.  The  worshipful  and  devotional  character  can  be 
maintained  to  a  very  high  degree  without  sacrificing  the 
instructive,  and  may  be  made  very  helpful  to  it.  A  system 
of  grading  is  essential  to  the  school  idea.  We  may  learn 
much  from  the  methods  of  grading  in  the  public  school, 
yet  there  is  an  essential  difference.  In  grading  a  Sunday- 
school  three  difficulties  confront  us  that  are  not  found  in 
the  public  school: 

1.  Voluntary  Atte7idance.  We  do  not  have  the  authority 
of  the  State  to  put  a  pupil  where  he  properly  belongs.  In 
the  public  school  the  sole  basis  of  gradation  is  the  pupil's 
attainments,  irrespective  of  size,  age,  or  social  conditions, 
while  in  the  Sunday-school  we  must  needs  give  some  con- 
sideration to  these.  However,  if  we  begin  with  the  pupil 
from  early  childhood,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  here  ;  but 
this  we  cannot  do  with  all  our  Sunday-school  scholars. 

2.  The  Bible  is  not  a  graded  text-book.  The  grading 
must  be  done  in  the  selection  of  the  portions  that  are  to  be 
taught  and  in  the  teaching,  especially  in  the  latter, 

3.  All  grades  study  the  same  lesson.  This  fact  is  not 
found  in  any  other  school  in  the  world  that  claims  to  be  a 
graded  school.  The  grading  here  must  be  done  in  the 
teaching  in  the  International  Lesson  system  and  in  courses 
of  supplemental  lessons. 

/    Pri7icipies  of  Grading. 
I.    Classification.      No   school  can  be   properly   graded 


GRADED    SUNDAY-SCHOOLS  23 

without  proper  classification.     The   classifications    should 
have  respect  chiefly  to  attainments  and  age. 

2.  Assigned  Work.  A  definite  amount  of  work  should 
be  assigned  in  each  grade,  and  that  work  should  be  com- 
pleted before  the  pupil  leaves  that  grade. 

3.  ProfHotion.  There  should  be  a  fixed  day  each  year 
for  promotion  of  pupils.  This  will  give  them  something  to 
look  forward  to  with  pleasing  anticipation  and  will  tend  to 
hold  them  in  the  school.  It  is  no  wonder  so  many  scholars 
drop  out  of  Sunday-school  in  their  teens  when  there  is  no 
inducement  for  them  to  remain,  nothing  to  stimulate  ambi- 
tion and  desire  for  higher  attainments. 

4.  Exami7iatio)i,  Promotion  should  be  made  on  exami- 
nation, oral  in  the  lower  and  written  in  the  higher  grades. 

5.  Graduation.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  students 
in  the  Sunday-school  are  to  cease  to  attend  it,  any  more 
than  graduates  from  college  are  to  lay  aside  all  books  and 
cease  to  study.  They  are  only  prepared  to  commence 
to  study.  That  is  what  "commencement  days"  mean. 
But  it  means,  when  a  certain  amount  of  work  is  done,  a 
certain  course  of  study  is  taken,  that  there  should  be  a 
recognition  of  it  in  some  way  that  will  give  pleasure  to  the 
graduates  and  stimulus  and  encouragement  to  the  under- 
graduates. 

The  graduation  point  may  be  when  a  scholar  has  studied 
all  the  lessons,  or,  say,  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  Inter- 
national Lessons  in  a  six  or  seven  years'  series.  These 
series  are  arranged  so  as  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  the 
Bible  in  outline.  Then,  also,  an  examination  may  be 
given  on  the  supplemental  lessons  that  may  be  adopted. 

//.    Methods  of  Grading. 

We  lay  down  here  no  inflexible  rule,  but  give  only  sug- 
gestions.    The  superintendent  and  teachers  of  each  school 


24     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

must  determine  the  details  of  grading  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  each  school.  Yet  in  all  grading  we  recog- 
nize several  great  departments,  and  the  grading  in  these 
departments  will  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  those  who  have 
charge  of  them. 

1.  The  Primary  Departmetit.  Age  from  four  to  eight 
years.  If  this  department  is  large  it  may  be  divided  into 
small  classes,  with  assistant  teachers  over  them.  As  the 
pupils  are  to  remain  in  this  grade  four  years,  it  might  be 
a  good  plan  to  subdivide  according  to  the  years  and  put 
them  into  four  classes.  These  will  seat  all  first-year, 
second-year,  etc.,  together,  which  will  represent  the  grade 
to  the  eye. 

First  Year.  Titles,  Golden  Texts,  and  simple  facts  of 
the  International  Lessons. 

Second  Year.  In  addition  to  the  first,  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, the  Lord's  Prayer,  Twenty-third  Psalm,  and 
Beatitudes. 

Third  Year.  Teach  most  of  the  regular  lessons  and 
begin  the  work  in  a  good  primary  catechism — Broadus' 
"Catechism,"  first  grade — and  memorize  other  portions  of 
Scripture  that  the  teacher  may  select. 

Fourth  Year.  In  addition  to  regular  lessons  and  memo- 
rizing Scripture,  finish  Broadus'    "Catechism." 

The  instruction  in  this  department  should  all  be  oral, 
using  blackboard,  charts,  and  objects. 

2.  The  Intermediate  Department.  Age,  eight  to  twelve 
years.  In  passing  from  one  grade  to  another  there  will 
necessarily  be  a  change  of  teachers.  When  it  is  generally 
known  that  this  is  the  rule  of  the  school  there  will  be  no 
objections. 

In  large  schools,  where  there  will  be  a  number  of  classes 
in  each  department,  it  will  be  well  to  have  a  superintend- 
ent of  each  one. 


GRADED    SUNDAY-SCHOOLS  2  5 

First  Year.  The  International  Lesson  is  studied  more 
thoroughly.  The  • '  Intermediate  Quarterly ' '  is  used  and  all 
the  blanks  filled  up  in  writing.  The  supplemental  work 
here  may  be  learning  the  books  of  the  Bible  in  order  and 
such  other  memory  work  as  the  teacher  may  assign. 

Second  Year.  In  addition  to  the  regular  lessons,  the 
books  of  the  Bible  reviewed,  giving  their  classification, 
authors,  dates,  and  design  of  each  book.^ 

Third  Year.  In  addition  to  regular  lessons,  select  por- 
tions of  Scripture  to  be  memorized.  Teach  the  names  and 
characteristics  of  the  patriarchs,  judges,  kings  of  Israel  and 
Judah,  and  the  twelve  apostles,  teacher  arranging  so  much 
for  each  week. 

Fourth  Year.  Here  the  pupil  is  in  the  twelfth  year  of 
his  life  and  eighth  year  of  his  Sunday-school  life,  and,  if 
the  work  in  previous  grades  has  been  well  done,  you  can 
give  as  the  supplemental  lessons  this  year  a  brief  oudine 
of  the  life  of  Christ.  It  may  be  easily  arranged  by  quar- 
ters, as :  First  quarter,  from  his  birth  to  his  baptism ;  second 
quarter,  Judean  ministry  ;  third  quarter,  Galilean  ministry  ; 
fourth  quarter,  Perean  ministry.'^ 

3.  Advanced  Department.  Age,  twelve  to  sixteen.  This 
is  the  most  important  grade  in  the  school  because  it  is  the 
hardest  age  at  which  to  hold  pupils.  The  best  and  wisest 
teachers  should  be  selected  for  this  grade.  It  is  usually 
the  largest  department  of  the  school,  and  will  be  in  the 
same  room  with  the  seniors.  They  like,  at  this  age,  recog- 
nition, and  in  the  opening  and  closing  exercises  they  should 
receive  such  as  may  be  suitable.  In  the  regular  lessons 
they  study  the  "Advanced  Quarterly,"  and  work  should  be 

1  For  this  work,  "  Lessons  from  the  Desk."  by  Rev.  Harold  Kennedy,  and 
published  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  will  prove  invaluable. 

2 "The  Life  of  Christ,"  by  O.  C.  S.  Wallace,  d.  d.,  will  be  found  very  help- 
ful in  this  work. 


26     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

assigned  in  the  lesson  to  each  pupil,  as  to  one  the  places  of 
the  lesson,  to  another  the  persons,  etc.  The  supplemental 
lessons  may  be  : 

First  Year.  Outline  O.  T.  history  from  creation  to 
exodus  from  Egypt. 

Second  Year.  O.  T.  history  from  exodus  from  Egypt  to 
the  coronation  of  King  Saul. 

Third  Year.      Finish  O.  T.  history. 

Fourth  Year.  New  Testament  history.  Of  course  the 
history  in  this  grade  will  be  only  in  brief  outline,  so  that  it 
will  leave  with  the  pupils  of  this  grade  the  framework  of 
Bible  history. 

4.  Sejiior  Department.  Age,  sixteen  to  twenty.  In 
this  grade  the  "  Senior  Quarterly  "  will  be  used  and  all  the 
matter  worked  up  that  it  suggests  in  the  way  of  special 
topics  along  the  line  of  the  International  Lessons.  For 
supplemental  work,  take  something  like  the  following  : 

First  Year.      "The  Dawn  of  Christianity,"  Vedder. 

Second  Year.      "  Short  History  of  Baptists,"  Vedder. 

Third  Year.      Christian  evidence. 

Fourth  Year.      Christian  evidence. 

Or,  for  the  whole  four  years,  the  Christian  Culture 
Courses  of  the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  This  latter  course  would  keep 
the  young  people's  society  and  Sunday-school  together 
during  a  most  important  period  of  life. 

5.  The  Normal  Department.  From  the  senior  depart- 
ment pupils  may  be  graded  and  promoted  to  the  normal 
department.  Put  into  this  department  all  who  are  willing 
to  become  teachers  and  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  work, 
or  those  who  wish  to  study  more  systematically  the  Bible. 
Of  this  department  we  may  notice  : 

(i)  The  Teacher.  The  pastor,  superintendent,  or  a 
practical  teacher  from  the  public  schools  may  be  placed  as 
teacher  of  the  normal  department. 


GRADED    SUNDAY-SCHOOLS  2/ 

(2)  The  Course  of  Study.  The  Chautauqua  Normal 
Union  Course  is  the  best.  Then  each  student  may  be  en- 
rolled as  a  Normal  Union  student,  and,  on  finishing  the 
course,  receives  a  diploma  from  the  Chautauqua  Normal 
Union. 

(3)  Tiyne  and  Place  of  MeettJig.  If  the  time  can  be 
given  to  it,  take  a  week-day  evening  or  an  hour  on  Sunday, 
and,  if  neither  of  these  can  be  had,  take  the  regular  Sunday- 
school  hour  and  drop  the  regular  lessons. 

6.  The  Lecture  Department.  This  takes  in  every  one 
over  twenty  years  of  age  and  during  the  remainder  of  life, 
if  the  scholars  choose.  There  is  no  formal  organization  as 
in  the  other  departments.  The  method  of  teaching  is  by 
practical  running  comment  on  the  lesson,  bringing  out  the 
spiritual  lessons,  and  with  forcible  incident  and  illustration 
impressing  them  on  the  heart.  This  department  should 
meet  in  the  main  audience  room  of  the  church  if  it  is  ar- 
ranged in  apartments,  and  the  pastor  will  probably  be  the 
best  teacher.  If  the  superintendent  has  charge  of  it  he 
must  do  it  while  the  class-work  is  going  on  in  the  other 
departments  under  the  supervision  of  his  assistants.  Every 
one  not  in  the  other  departments  may  attend  this.  They 
may  or  may  not  study  the  lesson  previously.  Strangers 
may  drop  in  here  and  be  greatly  benefited.  It  is  more  like 
a  preaching  service  with  an  expository  sermon.  The  lecture 
on  the  lesson  may  often  take  on  the  evangelistic  form  and  be 
a  real  soul-winning  sermon.  Special  features  may  be  intro- 
duced, from  time  to  time,  to  awaken  and  keep  up  interest. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

GRADING 


r  I.  vc 

\   2.   Bi 
[3.   Al 


rp,  I    i.  Vol.  Attendance 

T^-i     if-         \   2.   Bible  not  Gr.  Text-book 
Uitticulties      J    _    ^^j  ^^^^^^  ^^^g  g^^g  Lesson 


28 


HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 


Principles  for  ■ 


Methods  for 


(  I.  Class,  by  Age  and  Att. 

2.  Def.  Work  Assigned 

3.  Day  of  Promotion 

4.  Examinations 

5.  Graduation 


Pri.  Dep't 


2.  Int.  Dep't 


3.  Adv.  Dep't 


4.  Senior  Dep't 


5.  Normal  Dep't 

6.  Lecture  Dep't 


First  Year 
Second  Year 
Third  Year 
Fourth  Year 

First  Year. 
Second  Year 
Third  Year 
Fourth  Year 

P^irst  Year 
Second  Year 
Third  Year 
Fourth  Year 

First  Year 
Second  Year 
Third  Year 
Fourth  Year 

1.  Teacher 

2.  Course  of  Study 

3.  Time  and  Place 


IV. 


SUPPLEMENTAL   ORGANIZATION. 

In  addition  to  the  organization  and  grading  considered  in 
the  two  preceding  lessons,  there  are  other  means  of  per- 
fecting the  work  of  the  Sunday-school.  These  it  is  not 
proper  to  omit  in  a  manual  of  this  kind,  and  as  they  may 
be  briefly  treated  under  the  head  of  organizations  we  in- 
clude them  in  this  lesson. 


SUPPLEMENTAL   ORGANIZATION  29 

/    Class  Organization. 
The  school  and  its  work  will  be  helped  greatly  by  proper 
class    organization.      It    will    promote    a    wholesome    class 
spirit,  unity,  and  acquaintance.     The   organization  may  be 
simple.     There  should  be  : 

1.  A  President.  This  should  as  a  rule  be  the  teacher, 
yet  it  would  be  proper  to  elect  any  other  member  president. 

2.  A  Secretary,  to  keep  the  class  records,  call  the  roll, 
and  mark  the  attendance. 

3.  A  Treasurer,  to  take  the  collection  in  the  class  and 
keep  the  account  of  all  contributions,  which  he  will  turn 
over  to  the  treasurer  of  the  school. 

4.  Committees,  to  look  up  absent  scholars,  bring  in  new 
ones,  and  introduce  strangers  to  the  teachers,  who  will  in- 
troduce them  to  the  class. 

5.  Class  Meetings.  These  may  be  held  at  such  time 
and  place  as  is  most  convenient  for  social  purposes,  and  to 
cultivate  a  better  class  acquaintance  and  class  spirit.  If 
the  school  is  in  city  or  town,  class  outings  in  the  summer 
will  be  pleasant  and  profitable. 

//    The  Teachers'  Meeting. 

No  Sunday-school  is  properly  organized  that  does  not 
sustain  a  weekly  teachers'  meeting. 

When  ?  Every  week,  as  near  the  middle  of  the  week  as 
convenient,  so  that  the  teachers  will  have  time  to  prepare 
for  it,  and  time  to  work  up  the  suggestions  they  receive  at 
the  meeting. 

Where  ?  At  the  most  central  point  for  all  the  teachers. 
This  may  be  a  room  in  the  church,  the  pastor's  study,  or 
the  home  of  one  of  the  teachers.  Sometimes  it  works  well 
to  meet  at  the  homes  of  the  teachers  in  rotation. 

Why?  We  should  have  a  teachers'  meeting:  i.  Be- 
cause it  promotes  mutual  acquaintance,  sympathy,  and  fel- 


30     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

lowship  among  the  teachers.  2.  It  unifies  the  teaching. 
3.  It  improves  the  methods  of  teaching.  4.  It  secures 
better  results  to  the  school. 

How  ?  How  shall  the  teachers'  meeting  be  conducted  ? 
I.  Have  a  season  of  prayer.  2.  Study  the  next  Sunday's 
lesson.  3.  Discuss  methods  of  teaching  it  in  the  various 
grades.  Let  teachers  be  appointed  the  week  before  to 
present  plans  for  teaching — a  plan  for  teaching  it  to  adult 
classes,  another  for  the  intermediate  classes,  and  another 
still  for  the  primary.  4.  Then  consider  any  difficulties 
which  any  of  the  teachers  may  be  laboring  under,  any  en- 
couragements they  may  be  having  in  their  classes,  or  inci- 
dents connected  with  their  class-work.  Remember  that  it 
is  a  teachers'  meeting  and  it  is  proper  to  consider  all  ques- 
tions relative  to  teaching.  It  will  be  well  for  the  teachers 
to  prepare  questions  for  this  part  of  the  meeting. 

///    The  Home  Department. 

The  Home  Department  is  the  "pick-up"  train  of  the 
Sunday-school.  It  gathers  in  all  that  cannot,  or  think  they 
cannot,  attend  the  regular  sessions  of  the  school,  but  want 
to  study  the  Bible  in  a  regular  and  systematic  way.  When 
there  are  a  sufficient  number  who  are  willing  to  join  the 
Home  Department,  it  may  have  an  organization  of  its  own. 
We  here  briefly  describe  it  : 

I.  The  enrollment.  The  community  is  canvassed,  and 
all  who  will  agree  to  study  the  Sunday-school  lessons  thirty 
minutes  each  week  at  home  are  enrolled  as  members  of  the 
school. 

This  will  reach  (i)  Those  who  live  at  too  great  a  dis- 
tance from  the  school  to  attend  regularly.  (2)  Mothers 
with  small  children  and  no  one  to  care  for  them  in  their 
absence.  (3)  The  "shut-ins,"  who  will  be  glad  to  occupy 
a  portion  of  their  weary  hours   in  this  way.      (4)  Servants 


SUPPLEMENTAL    ORGANIZATION  3  I 

and  employees  whose  time  is  not  their  own.  (5)  Traveling 
men  who  cannot  be  at  home,  save  at  intervals.  Those 
who  are  enrolled  are  to  have  all  the  privileges  of  the  school. 
Lesson  helps  and  papers  are  to  be  furnished  them,  and 
a  catalogue  of  the  library  to  which  they  may  have  access, 
and  the  privilege  of  making  regular  contributions  to  the 
work  of  the  school. 

2.  Officers.  A  superintendent,  and  visitors  who  make  a 
thorough  canvass  of  the  community  and  induce  all  not  at- 
tending the  school  to  join  the  Home  Department.  The  ter- 
ritory is  divided  into  districts,  and  one  or  more  visitors 
assigned  to  each  district. 

3.  Classes.  There  may  be  four  kinds  of  classes  formed  : 
(i)  Individual  classes,  who  live  in  the  same  district,  under 
the  supervision  of  a  visitor,  who  corresponds  to  the  teacher. 
They  study  independently  of  each  other,  and  have  no  class 
meetings.  (2)  Family  classes.  In  some  instances  there 
will  be  families  too  remote  from  the  school  to  attend,  and 
will  agree  to  study  the  lesson  together.  (3)  Neighborhood 
classes,  where  several  families  may  agree  to  study  the  lesson 
together.  There  are  not  enough  to  organize  and  support 
a  school,  and  are  too  remote  from  the  main  school  to  at- 
tend. They  may  be  formed  thus  into  a  neighborhood  class. 
(4)  Correspondence  classes.  Any  one  may  start,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Home  Department,  a  correspondence  class  of 
persons  who  are  scattered  and  too  far  away  for  visitation. 
Correspondence  may  thus  be  opened  with  lumber  and  min- 
ing camps  and  remote  communities. 

4.  Supplies.  Home  Department  supplies  consist  of  a 
visitor's  book,  with  full  instructions,  circulars  explaining 
the  work,  pledge  cards,  membership  certificates,  report 
cards,  etc.^     The  quarterlies  and  papers  are  also  furnished. 

1  All  of  these  supplies  can  be  obtained  from  the  American  Baptist  Publica- 
tion Society,  Philadelphia,  or  from  the  nearest  Branch. 


32  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

A  collection  envelope  accompanies  the  report  card,  for  a 
contribution  to  be  sent  in  with  the  quarterly  report  of  the 
student. 

5.  Advantages  of  the  Home  Department,  (i)  It  takes 
the  school  to  the  homes  of  those  who  do  not  attend  it  at 
the  church.  (2)  It  solves  the  vexed  problem,  "How  can 
we  get  all  our  church-members  into  the  Sunday-school?" 
(3)  It  increases  the  attendance  of  the  main  school.  (4)  It 
is  an  evangelizing  agency  for  the  community.  (5)  It  is  a 
good  help  to  the  pastor  in  his  work  of  visitation.  (6)  It 
promotes  Bible  reading  in  the  family.  (7)  It  develops 
Christian  workers. 

IV.    House  to  House  Visitation. 

This  visitation  is  different  from  that  in  the  Home  De- 
partment— different  visitors,  different  objects,  and  different 
methods.  It  may  be  accomplished  by  an  individual 
school,  but  it  is  probably  better  to  make  it  a  general  work 
by  a  union  effort  of  all  the  schools  in  a  town,  city,  district, 
or  county.  It  is  more  a  department  of  international  work 
than  that  of  any  one  school.  In  such  union  there  will  be 
both  strength  and  impressiveness.  To  prosecute  it  success- 
fully there  must  be  : 

1.  Orga?iizatio?i.  This  organization  should  represent 
the  pastors  and  superintendents  of  all  the  schools  of  all  de- 
nominations in  the  community.     Then, 

2.  District  the  Territory.  In  the  town  or  city  it  may 
follow  wards  or  streets  ;  in  the  country  the  school  districts 
would  be  a  natural  and  convenient  division. 

3.  Appoint  visitors,  and  furnish  each  with  a  visitor's 
book  and  a  list  of  questions  on  slips  of  paper  to  be  filled 
up  by  each  family  visited,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  de- 
sired information,  as  whether  they  attend  Sunday-school 
anywhere,  and  if  so,  what  school  ;  if  not,  what  school  they 


SUPPLEMENTAL    ORGANIZATION  ^^ 

would  prefer,  and  whether  they  are  suppHed  with  Bibles, 
and  what  church  they  attend,  etc. 

4.  Appoint  a  Visitmg  Day.  Then  let  all  the  visitors 
assemble  for  a  season  of  prayer  before  they  start  out,  and 
when  the  canvass  is  complete  have  another  meeting  for 
reports.  The  information  obtained  will  be  astonishing. 
Whole  cities  and  counties  have  been  visited  in  a  day. 
Every  house  in  the  community  should  be  visited.  Much 
care  and  judgment  should  be  exercised  in  prosecuting  the 
work.  Visitors  must  not  be  abrupt  nor  canvass  in  the 
spirit  of  a  governmental  census  taker  or  commercial  agent, 
but  be  polite,  kind,  and  winning.  Such  a  day' s  work  can- 
not fail  to  make  a  most  favorable  impression  on  a  commu- 
nity, especially  when  it  is  known  that  every  house  has  been 
religiously  canvassed, 

5.  Let  this  be  done  frequently  enough  to  have  the  work 
efficient  and  impressive.  The  information  obtained  can  be 
distributed  to  the  various  schools  and  made  useful  in  their 
special  work.  Those,  for  instance,  that  would  prefer  the 
Baptist  school  or  church  can  have  their  names  and  ad- 
dresses given  to  the  pastor  or  superintendent  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  so  on  of  each  denomination. 

6.  The  advantages  of  such  a  work  would  be  :  (i)  To 
awaken  the  whole  community  religiously  and  show  the 
people  that  the  churches  were  really  interested  in  them. 
(2)  It  would  be  a  revelation  to  the  churches  of  the  religious 
condition  of  the  community.  (3)  It  would  awaken  an 
interest  in  the  churches  themselves  for  the  community  they 
never  had  before.  (4)  It  would  bring  all  the  churches  and 
Sunday-schools  of  the  community  into  closer  touch,  sym- 
pathy, and  co-operation  with  each  other.  (5)  It  would 
destroy  a  great  deal  of  denominational  prejudice  and  nar- 
rowness. (6)  It  would  increase  the  number  and  develop 
Christian  workers.      (7)  It  would  prove  a  great  blessing  to 

C 


34 


HANDBOOK    OK    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 


the  workers  themselves  as  well  as  increase  attendance  upon 
the    Sunday-school  and  church. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

SUPPLE.MENTAL    ORGANIZATION 


Class    Organiza- 
tion 


II. 

Teachers'  Meet- 
ings 


III. 
Home  Dep't 


IV. 

House  to  House 

Visitation 


President 
Secretary 
Treasurer 
Committees 
Class  greetings 


r  When? 
Where  ? 


Why? 


How? 


1.  Promote  Acq.,  Symp.,  Fel. 

2.  Unifies  Teaching 

3.  Improves  Methods 

4.  Secures  Better  Results 

1.  Prayer 

2.  Study  Lesson 

3.  Discuss  Methods  of  Teaching 

4.  Questions 


1.  Enroll:  Dist.,  Mothers,  "  Shut-ins,"  Serv., 

Trav. 

2.  Officers  :  Sup't,  Visitors 

3.  Classes  :   Ind.,  Fam.,  Neighb.,  Corre. 

4.  Supplies  :  Vis.  Book,  Cert.,  Cards,  Helps, 

etc. 

5.  Advantages  :    R.    Homes,    R.    All,    Incr. 

Att.,   Evan.,    Helps    Pastor,    Bible    R., 
Dev.    Workers 


Organization 
District  the  Territory 
Appoint  Visitors 
Visitors'  Day 
Distribute  Inf. 

{Awake  Com.,  Inform  Ch's, 
Stim.  Interest,  Co-op.,  De- 
stroy  Prej.,  Dev.  Workers, 
Benefit  Workers 


THE   SUPERINTENDENT  35 

V. 
THE    SUPERIXTEXDENT. 

A  large  Sunday-school  which  is  thoroughly  organized 
may  have  several  superintendents.  If  the  departments 
are  large,  with  a  number  of  sub-grades  and  classes,  each 
department  may  have  its  own  superintendent.  Yet  all  are 
subordinate  to  the  chief  superintendent,  who  is  installed 
into  his  office  by  the  authority  of  the  church.  What  we 
say  of  the  superintendent  here  may  apply  to  all.      Notice  : 

/    His  Qualifications. 

We  may  not  find  in  one  person  all  the  desirable  quali- 
fications that  may  be  mentioned,  but  we  should  find  in  the 
assistants  what  is  lacking  in  the  principal. 

To  avoid  mistakes  in  his  selection  we  may  consider  the 
superintendent's  qualifications  : 

I.  Negative,  (i)  We  do  not  want  a  loiterer,  one  who 
is  habitually  behind  time.  Tardiness  is  a  crime,  and  the 
superintendent  must  not  be  a  criminal,  a  time-stealer. 
(2)  We  do  not  want  a  "lemon  squeezer,"  a  sour,  sullen 
disposition,  always  finding  fault  with  everybody  and  every- 
thing, whose  forte  is  scolding.  A  superintendent  with  too 
much  acid  in  his  nature  will  sour  every  one  else,  keep  every 
one  in  pickle,  and  fail  to  sweeten  any  lives  of  those  he 
comes  in  contact  with.  (3)  We  do  not  want  a  Solomon  in 
his  own  esteem,  a  self-conceited  man  who  knows  more  than 
"seven  men  who  can  render  a  reason."  He  takes  no  sug- 
gestions from  any  one,  favors  nothing  that  he  does  not 
originate,  reads  nothing  on  Sunday-schools,  makes  no  im- 
provement. (4)  We  do  not  want  one  of  porcupine  nature, 
whose  forte  is  criticism.  His  sharp  quills  are  always  out ; 
you  are  afraid  to  come  near  him,  for  you  are  sure  to  be 
stabbed  by  some  sharp  remark  that  hurts  for  days  afterward. 


36  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

(5)  We  do  not  want  a  talking  machine.  The  talkative 
superintendent  may  be  a  good-natured  man,  but  he  is  af- 
flicted with  the  gift  of  speech.  He  opens  the  school  with  a 
lecture,  he  exhorts  between  every  verse  of  the  hymns,  he 
preaches  in  the  review. 

1  know  a  school  that  elected  a  good  business  man  super- 
intendent, "because  he  could  not  make  a  speech,"  They 
succeeded. 

2.  Positive.  Having  seen  what  we  do  not  want  in  a 
superintendent,  it  will  be  more  pleasant  to  search  for  the 
qualities  that  we  do  want. 

(i)  Cheerfuhiess.  Cheerfulness  is  the  bright  sunlight 
of  the  soul.  He  who  possesses  it  makes  every  one  happy 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact.  The  cheerful  super- 
intendent never  shows  discouragement  in  his  face.  If  it 
is  a  dark,  gloomy,  rainy  day,  he  commences  his  school, 
by  saying  in  fact,  if  not  in  words,  "It  is  very  dark  and 
gloomy  on  the  outside  to-day,  but  I  am  so  glad  that  it  is 
so  bright  and  cheerful  in  here."  His  face  is  a  benediction 
on  the  school. 

(2)  Teachableness.  The  good  superintendent  is  a  thorough 
Bible  student,  and  hence  he  is  teachable.  He  never  feels 
that  he  knows  enough.  He  is  always  open  to  suggestions. 
He  reads  the  best  books  on  Sunday-school  work,  and 
attends  all  the  institutes  and  conventions  that  he  can. 
Being  teachable  he  is  a  teacher.  He  is  up  on  all  the 
latest  approved  methods  of  teaching. 

(3)  Lovableness.  That  quality  that  excites  love.  Loveli- 
ness is  moral  magnetism.  Add  to  this  deep  piety  and  we 
have  a  superintendent  who  is  a  moral  and  spiritual  magnet. 
He  has  a  most  tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others, 
studiously  avoids  saying  or  doing  anything  that  will  disturb 
uneasy  tempers.      He  is  an  amiable  gendeman.      He  wins. 

(4)  Gentleness.      Gentleness  has  been  defined  as  love  in 


THE    SUPERINTENDENT  37 

society  holding  delightful  intercourse  with  those  around  it. 
This  quality  in  a  superintendent  gives  him  a  permanent 
popularity.  The  virtue  that  includes  in  it  softness  of  man- 
ner, tenderness  of  feeling,  kindness  of  action,  mildness  of 
speech,  and  docility  of  spirit,  cannot  fail  to  render  its 
possessor  lovable  and  attractive.  As  the  mission  of  the 
Sunday-school  is  to  win  to  Christ,  the  more  of  this  quality 
in  the  leader,  the  greater  will  be  the  number  of  those  who 
will  be  won. 

(5)  Firmness.  The  superintendent  has  much  to  test  him. 
He  is  the  sovereign  in  the  government  of  the  school,  and 
his  management  depends  upon  firmness  as  well  as  kindness. 
He  must  first  be  sure  that  he  is  right,  and  then,  when  he 
takes  a  position,  he  must  maintain  it  at  all  hazards. 

(6)  Executive  Ability.  As  the  superintendent  is  the  chief 
executive  officer,  he  should  possess  a  large  share  of  execu- 
tive ability.  This  is  the  ability  to  foresee,  plan,  and  exe- 
cute. He  must  have  a  will  of  his  own  and  know  how  to 
use  it.  He  must  be  a  man  who  brings  things  to  pass. 
This  quality  includes  in  it  promptness  and  perseverance. 
No  one  who  is  not  prompt  and  persevering  will  bring 
things  to  pass. 

(7)  Piety.  There  are  many  other  desirable  traits  in  the 
superintendent  that  might  be  considered,  but  our  space  for- 
bids, and  we  close  this  part  of  our  lesson  with  the  perfect 
number  seven.  Piety  includes  so  many  good  traits,  and 
covers  so  many  defects,  that  we  may  regard  it  as  the  one 
essential  qualification  of  the  superintendent.  If  he  is 
pious  he  will  be  prayerful,  patient,  and  powerful. 

//.    His  Work. 

I.  In  the  School.  By  "in  the  school"  we  mean  during 
the  session  of  the  school,  and  in  order  to  perform  his  duties 
there  properly  he  should   be  in  the  room  fifteen  or  twenty 


38     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

minutes  before  the  time  to  open  the  exercises,  in  order  to 
see  that  the  sexton  has  done  his  duty  and  everything  is  in 
order  for  the  session.     Then  his  work  in  the  school  is  : 

(i)  To  begin  on  time.  One  tap  of  the  bell  should  be 
the  signal  for  order  ;  then  taking  his  place  on  the  platform 
he  should  wait  for  quietness.  The  hymn  should  be  an- 
nounced distinctly,  or  place  the  number  on  the  board. 

(2)  The  superintendent  should  lead  all  the  general  exer- 
cises according  to  a  well-arranged  order  of  exercises,  which 
may  be  changed  from  time  to  time.  It  should  contain  the 
elements  of  appropriateness,  unity,  variety,  and  impressive- 
ness.  Especially  should  he  make  the  opening  prayer,  for 
he  knows  best  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  school. 

(3)  During  class-work  he  should  remain  at  the  desk, 
where  he  can  see  all  that  is  going  on,  and  keep  a  note-book 
to  make  a  record  of  anything  he  may  wish  to  call  attention 
to  in  future  conferences  with  officers  or  teachers.  If  the 
different  departments  meet  in  different  rooms,  a  visit  from 
the  superintendent  for  a  few  moments,  if  it  is  only  to  say, 
"How  do  you  do,"  will  be  welcomed.  Five  minutes  be- 
fore class-work  closes  he  should  give  a  signal,  usually  one 
tap  of  the  bell,  that  all  may  close  on  time. 

(4)  The  platform  review  should  be  given  by  the  super- 
intendent, using  a  blackboard.  This  review  should  be 
short,  pointed,  practical,  impressive,  bringing  out  a  practi- 
cal summary  of  the  lesson.  The  acrostic  form  will  appeal 
to  the  eye  and  aid  the  memory. 

(5)  He  should  aim  to  make  the  closing  exercises  helpful 
in  impressing  the  teaching  of  the  hour.  Abruptness  in 
closing  should  be  avoided.  The  secretary's  report  should 
be  placed  on  the  board  that  all  may  see  it,  the  papers 
distributed  in  the  classes  to  avoid  confusion. 

2.  Out  of  the  School.  As  the  superintendent  can  be 
with  his  school  only  an  hour  in  the  week,  it  is  evident  that 


THE    SUPERINTENDENT  39 

most  of  his  work  must  be  done  out  of  the  school.  It  may 
be  summarized  as  follows  :  The  work  of  the  superintendent 
is  to  prepare  for  the  work  in  the  school.      But  to  specify  : 

(i)  Hold  cabinet  meetings.  His  cabinet  is  composed 
of  all  the  officers  of  the  school  and  the  pastor — who  is 
really  an  officer  of  the  school.  They  should  meet  at  least 
once  a  month,  and  consider  all  questions  of  interest  to  the 
school,  decide  on  new  methods  that  are  to  be  employed. 
No  new  method  should  be  employed  as  a  mere  experiment, 
but  should  be  first  considered  in  the  cabinet  meeting,  then 
submitted  to  the  teachers,  then  put  into  practice.  It  will 
be  well  for  members  of  the  cabinet  to  visit  other  schools, 
observe  their  methods,  and  report.  The  cabinet  meeting 
can  be  made  very  helpful  to  the  school. 

(2)  To  hold  a  weekly  teachers'  meeting.  If  the  superin- 
tendent is  determined  to  have  a  teachers'  meeting,  he  can 
have  one.  The  best  and  only  way  to  have  a  teachers' 
meeting  is  to  have  it.  If  the  teachers  cannot  meet  every 
week,  meet  every  other  week  and  take  up  two  lessons. 

(3)  The  superintendent  should  visit  his  pupils  as  often 
as  possible.  If  the  plan  of  house  to  house  visitation  is 
adopted,  he  can  occasionally  go  with  the  visitors.  Children 
will  be  delighted  to  see  their  superintendent  in  their  homes. 

(4)  Out  of  the  school  the  superintendent  should  read 
and  study  along  the  line  of  his  work,  keeping  up  with  the 
latest  and  best  books  on  the  subject  of  Sunday-schools. 

(5)  He  should  also  attend  Sunday-school  institutes  and 
conventions,  both  as  a  worker  and  a  learner.  The  super- 
intendent who  does  not  attend  such  meetings  will  soon  win 
for  himself  the  appropriate  title  of  a  "back  number." 

(6)  Out  of  the  school  the  superintendent  should  prepare 
all  the  details  of  work  in  the  school,  as  the  lesson  review, 
selection  of  hymns,  Scripture  passages  that  are  to  be  used, 
and  notify  persons  whom  he  wants  to  take  part  in  the  exer- 


40 


HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 


cises  in  any  way.  Then  after  the  school  has  closed  and  he 
returns  home,  let  him  review  all  the  work  of  that  session, 
and  ask  himself  where  he  could  have  improved  it. 

Suggestions  : 

The  Superintendent  s  Library.  Every  wide-awake,  up- 
to-date  superintendent  should  have  a  library.  I  suggest 
the  following:  "The  Baptist  Superintendent,"  a  monthly 
magazine,  published  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society,  25  cents  a  year;  "A  Model  Superintendent," 
Trumbull,  $1.00  ;  "The  Church  School,  and  its  Officers," 
Vincent,  75  cents  ;  "Ways  of  Working,"  Shauffler,  |i.oo; 
"Sunday-school  Success,"  Wells,  $1.25  ;  "How  to  Make 
the  Sunday-school  Go,"  Bener,  $1.00;  "Seven  Graded 
Sunday-schools,"  edited  by  Hurlbut,  60  cents  ;  "Teaching 
and  Teachers,"  Trumbull,  $1.00.  "The  Sunday  School 
Times"  and  "International  Evangel,"  are  among  the  best 
periodicals  outside  of  the  regular  denominational  papers, 
quarterlies,  and  teacher's  journal,  with  which  the  superin- 
tendent should  be  familiar. 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 


THE    SUPERINTENDENT 


His 

Qualifications 


Negative 


Positive 


1.  Slow 

2.  Sour 

3.  Solomon 

4.  Sharp 

5.  Talking  Machine 


I. 

2. 
3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 

.  7- 


Cheerfulness 

Teachableness 

Lovableness 

Gentleness 

Firmness 

Executive  Ability 

Piety 


THE    TEACHER 


41 


His  Work 


In  the  School 


Out  of  the  School  - 


1.  Begin  on  Time 

2.  Lead  General  Exercises 

3.  During  Class  Work 

4.  Reviews 

5.  Closing  Exercises 

1.  Hold  Cabinet  Meeting 

2.  Hold  Teachers'  Meeting 

3.  Visit  Pupils 

4.  Read  and  Study 

5.  Attend  Institutes 

6.  Prepare  all  Details 


His  Library 


VL 


THE  TEACHER. 

While  the  office  and  work  of  the  superintendent  cannot 
be  too  highly  regarded,  we  must  not  underestimate  the 
sacredness  and  power  of  the  office  and  work  of  the  teacher. 
What  the  teacher  needs  first  and  foremost  is  a  just  concep- 
tion and  appreciation  of  his  sacred  office  and  God-given 
work.  In  this  lesson  we  notice  six  things  concerning  the 
Sunday-school  teacher. 

/.    His  Calling. 

Alas,  too  many  Sunday-school  teachers  never  have  a 
serious  thought  about  their  work,  and  teach  simply  because 
they  have  been  asked  to  "take  a  class"  and  can  give  it 
up  as  easily  as  they  take  it.  Our  teachers  never  will  be 
brought  up  to  the  fullness  of  their  efficiency  tmtil  they  feel 
that  they  are  called  of  God  to  teach.      Hence  we  announce  : 

I.  This  calling  is  of  God.  All  Christians  are  called  of 
God  to  some  purpose  :  i  Cor.  i  :  26,  "  For  you  see  your 
calling,  brethren."     Then  in  answer  to  prayer  he  designates 


42  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

some  particular  work.  Paul's  first  prayer  was:  "Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ? "  and  the  Lord  answered 
by  calling  him  to  be  an  apostle  (Rom.  i  :  i).  The  Holy 
Spirit  said  to  the  church  at  Antioch  :  "Separate  me  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called 
them."  This  was  not  the  general  call  of  all  Christians, 
but  a  special  call  to  these  two  men  and  tio  one  else.  But 
this  calling  was  to  ministers  or  missionaries  ?  In  this  same 
church  there  "were  certain  prophets  and  teachers"  (Acts 
13:1).  In  I  Cor.  12  :  28  the  office  of  teacher  is  distinctly 
pointed  out  :  "  God  hath  set  some  in  the  church,  first  apos- 
tles, secondarily  prophets,  thirdly  teachers."  The  teacher 
must  realize  this  and  feel  that  he  is  teaching  because  God 
wants  him  to  teach. 

2.  This  calling  is  ofteji  jnade  known  through  the  church. 
The  church  is  instructed  to  pray  for  workers  :  "Pray  ye 
therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  will  send  forth 
laborers  into  his  harvest."  The  church  at  Antioch  sent 
out  Saul  and  Barnabas  as  missionaries  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
made  it  known  to  them  that  he  had  called  them.  A  pray- 
ing church  will  be  sure  to  find  workers.  The  teacher 
should  regard  the  voice  of  the  church  as  the  voice  of  God. 
Yet  he  should  feel  impressed  in  his  own  heart  that  God  has 
called  him  to  teach  ;  one  is  the  internal,  the  other  the 
external  call.      They  corroborate  each  other. 

//.    His  Qualificatiotis. 

Since  the  office  of  teacher  is  a  divine  calling,  it  follows 
that  he  who  fills  it  must  possess  proper  and  essential  quali- 
fications.    The  Sunday-school  teacher  should  be 

I.  A  Christian  ;  not  a  mere  professor,  but  a  true  Chris- 
tian in  belief,  experience,  and  life.  He  should  believe  the 
truth  he  is  to  teach,  he  should  feel  its  power  in  his  own 
soul,  and  live  it  every  day  before  the  world  and  his  class. 


THE    TEACHER  43 

2.  He  should  be  a  consistent  church-member.  This 
means  that  he  should  have  a  church  preference,  with  con- 
scientious beliefs  concerning  its  doctrine  ;  that  he  should 
belong  to  the  church  with  which  the  school  is  connected, 
and  that  he  should  be  loyal  to  it  in  its  doctrine,  officers, 
and  work.  He  is  expected  to  lead  his  pupils  into  the 
church,  and  he  cannot  do  it  unless  he  goes  into  it  himself. 

3.  He  should  be  pious,  prayerful,  and  punctual.  His 
piety  will  show  him  his  own  weakness,  keep  him  close  to 
God,  and  warm  his  heart.  Prayerfulness  will  establish 
pious  habits  in  the  teacher,  keep  his  class  constantly  be- 
fore a  throne  of  grace  as  their  intercessor,  and  give  him  the 
light  of  the  Spirit  for  study  and  teaching.  Punctuality  will 
show  him  the  value  of  time  and  enable  him  to  economize 
every  moment. 

4.  Personal  magnetism  and  enthusiasm  will  add  im- 
mensely to  his  power.  He  will  draw  his  pupils  to  him  and 
kindle  a  flame  of  zeal  in  them  that  will  glow  in  the  study  of 
their  lessons  and  warm  a  frozen  recitation. 

5.  The  teacher  must  love  his  work.  If  he  loves  God 
and  feels  that  he  has  called  him  to  his  work  he  cannot  help 
loving  it.  It  should  be  a  part  of  his  very  being.  The 
expression  ' '  wedded  to  one' s  work ' '  has  more  in  it  than 
we  think.  The  relation  between  the  teacher  and  his 
work  is  a  most  tender  and  loving  relation.  Divorce  means 
death.  Teacher,  if  you  would  succeed,  learn  to  love  your 
work  and  value  it  as  your  own  life. 

6.  The  teacher  should  be  friendly,  one  who  can  make 
friends,  appreciate  friends,  and  keep  friends.  Each  mem- 
ber in  the  class  should  feel  that  the  Sunday-school  teacher 
is  a  friend  at  all  times,  and  that  he  can  go  to  him  with 
any  trouble  or  at  any  time.  The  teacher  should  also  en- 
courage these  friendly  feelings,  sympathy,  and  helpfulness 
between  himself  and  his  class. 


44     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

7.  Finally,  on  this  line  the  teacher  should  be  a  teacher 
not  simply  in  name,  but  in  knowledge,  skill,  tact,  and 
power.  A  natural  teacher  with  all  the  acquired  qualifica- 
tions is  the  best.  If  we  would  rely  more  on  God  to  make 
and  choose  our  Sunday-school  teachers  for  us  we  should 
have  fewer  failures,  for  he  knows  whom  to  call.  A  teacher 
is  one  who  wants  to  teach,  loves  to  teach,  can  teach,  and 
does  teach. 

///    His  Preparation. 

Preparation  means  getting  ready.  By  preparation  here 
I  do  not  mean  the  preparation  of  a  given  lesson,  but  the 
general  preparation  in  getting  ready  to  prepare  and  teach 
any  lesson.  The  minister' s  preparation  for  his  work  does 
not  consist  in  making  sermons,  the  lawyer's  in  tr^-ing  cases, 
nor  the  physician' s  in  writing  prescriptions,  but  in  getting 
ready  to  do  these  things.  The  teacher,  in  preparing  to 
teach,  should  take  three  courses  of  study  : 

1.  He  should  study  what  he  is  to  teach.  A  course  of 
outline  study  of  the  Bible  as  a  whole,  its  origin,  interpre- 
tation, structure,  history,  geography,  institutions,  doctrine, 
etc.,  such  a  course  as  is  outlined  by  the  companion  volume 
to  this,  "Lessons  from  the  Desk,"  by  Mr.  Kennedy. 
This  general  outline  study  of  the  Bible  will  make  the  study 
of  a  given  lesson  much  easier. 

2.  He  should  study  how  he  is  to  teach.  In  these  days  of 
advanced  methods  of  Sunday-school  work  and  the  many 
helpful  books  on  the  subject  brought  within  easy  reach  of 
the  teacher,  he  is  inexcusable  for  ignorance.  Besides,  most 
of  our  children  are  taught  in  the  public  schools  according 
to  the  latest  and  best  methods,  and  they  will  soon  detect 
poor  teaching  in  the  Sunday-school,  and  it  will  fail  to 
hold  them.  A  course  of  study  in  the  principles  and 
methods  or  science  of  teaching  is  essential  to  efficiency  in 


THE    TEACHER  45 

the  Sunday-school.      This  course  of  study  it  is  the  purpose 
of  this  manual  to  furnish. 

3.  The  teacher  should  study  ivhoni  he  is  to  teach.  It  is 
not  enough  for  the  teacher  to  know  the  truth  he  is  to  impart 
and  the  method  of  imparting  it,  but  he  must  know  the  per- 
sonality he  is  to  teach.  He  is  to  use  rt// the  pupil' s  powers 
of  thinking,  feeling,  and  willing,  and  how  can  he  do  this  if 
he  does  not  know  these  powers,  their  strength  and  laws  of 
operation.  He  must  know  how  to  reach  his  pupil's  mind, 
heart,  and  will.  A  course  of  study  in  human  nature,  and 
especially  child  study,  is  essential.  Part  H.  of  this  manual 
is  a  mere  outline  of  this  branch  of  study.  We  hope  the 
teacher  will  greatly  extend  it. 

IV.   His  Study. 

We  do  not  give  here  the  method  of  the  teacher' s  study, 
but  the  general  characteristics  of  it.  Five  points  may  be 
given  the  teacher  : 

1.  He  should  study  prayerfully,  that  is,  he  must  ask 
God  to  help  him  understand  the  spiritual  truth  he  studies. 
The  Bible  is  unlike  all  other  books  in  that  it  has  a  spiritual 
interpretation  that  can  be  discerned  only  by  the  spiritually 
minded,  and  the  spiritually  minded  teacher  is  the  prayer- 
ful teacher.      Hence  prayer  helps  him  to  study. 

2.  He  should  study  reverently.  It  is  a  serious  matter  to 
prepare  to  teach  God' s  word.  The  teacher  is  dealing  with 
divine  truth  and  immortal  souls  with  a  view  of  bringing 
the  two  together.  How  reverent  we  should  feel  in  the 
bodily  presence  of  Jesus.  We  are  no  less  in  his  presence 
when  we  come  before  his  open  word  to  get  a  message  to 
deliver  to  precious  souls.      Study  reverently.      He  should 

3.  Study  habitually.  Mental  habits  may  be  easily  formed 
as  well  as  physical,  and  by  training  the  mind  to  think 
habitually  along  certain  lines,  it  will  naturally  recur  to  those 


46     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

topics.  If  the  teacher  will  form  the  habit  of  studying  his 
Bible  every  day,  and  especially  along  the  line  of  the  lessons, 
he  can  utilize  many  moments  that  would  otherwise  be  lost. 
When  he  once  has  formed  the  habit  of  finding  spiritual 
lessons  from  the  text  of  the  lesson,  they  soon  become  easy. 
Besides  this  he  will  begin  to  turn  everything  else  into  les- 
sons, as  the  preacher  turns  everything  he  learns  into  ser- 
mons.     P'orm  studious  habits. 

4.  The  teacher  should  study  systematically.  Study  along 
similar  lines,  collecting  and  arranging  similar  truths  in  their 
proper  relations  to  each  other.  Systematic  study  is  the 
easiest  and  most  aids  the  memory  and  prepares  it  best  for 
teaching.  Many  an  otherwise  good  sermon  has  been  lost 
to  the  audience  because  it  had  no  system  in  its  make-up. 
The  same  is  true  of  a  lesson  that  is  to  be  taught.  Much 
depends  on  arrangement. 

5.  The  teacher  should  study  thoroughly.  Superficial 
preparation  discourages,  if  not  disgusts,  an  intelligent  class, 
and  is  very  harmful  to  the  teacher.  Thorough  preparation 
in  our  Sunday-school  w^ork  is  the  remedy  for  many  an  ill. 
Thorough  preparation  gives  the  teacher  self-confidence 
when  he  comes  before  his  class,  and  inspires  confidence  on 
the  part  of  the  class.  This  also  "increases  their  faith"  in 
the  word  and  its  author.      Be  thorough. 

V.    His  teaching. 

Three  points  will  describe  in  a  general  way  the  teaching 
of  the  Sunday-school  teacher. 

I.  It  should  be  sound  in  doctrine.  We  are  often  asked 
if  we  should  teach  doctrine  in  the  Sunday-school.  My  re- 
ply is,  that  if  we  teach  at  all  we  must  teach  doctrine.  But 
what  is  sound  doctrine  ?  It  is  evangelical  :  a  proper  con- 
ception of  God,  our  relations  to  him,  his  love,  and  our  re- 
lations to  it,  proper  conceptions  of  ourselves,  proper  con- 


THE    TEACHER  47 

ceptions  of  Christ,  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  way  of 
salvation.  For  a  Baptist,  sound  doctrine  includes  that  sys- 
tem of  belief  held  by  the  denomination.  Teach  the  dis- 
tinctive doctrines  of  Baptists  ?  Certainly,  that  is  what  they 
are  for.  The  Jews  were  instructed  to  teach  their  distinctive 
doctrines  to  their  children,  and  why  not  we  ?  We  should 
hold  no  doctrine  that  we  are  not  willing  to  teach  in  the 
Sunday-school  or  elsewhere.  Let  the  teaching  be  sound  in 
doctrine. 

2.  //  should  be  7iatural  in  method.  There  is  a  natural 
way  to  teach  all  truth  and  a  natural  way  to  teach  every  lesson. 
The  teacher  must  find  that  way,  and  follow  it.  There  is  a 
natural  point  at  which  to  begin  every  lesson,  a  natural  way 
to  proceed  to  unfold  it,  and  a  natural  way  in  which  to  reach 
every  heart.  The  skillful  teacher  will  soon  find  it.  There 
is  a  natural  way  to  reach  the  child  mind,  the  boy  mind, 
the  girl  mind,  the  youth's  mind,  and  the  mind  of  the  adult 
and  aged  ;  the  same  is  true  of  their  hearts.  Teaching 
should  be  natural. 

3.  //  should  be  practical  i}i  application.  The  Sunday- 
school  class  is  not  a  debating  society  for  the  discussion  of 
knotty  theological  questions,  nor  a  factory  for  spinning  fine 
theories,  nor  a  social  club  for  "a  good  time,"  but  a  con- 
flict in  which  head  and  heart  come  in  contact  with  head 
and  heart,  where  souls  are  to  be  won  as  the  fruits  of  the 
greatest  victories,  and  lives  are  to  be  made  better  and  hap- 
pier. Let  much  time  be  given  to  the  practical  lessons. 
Better  take  only  one  or  two  and  impress  them  well  than  to 
skim  over  a  large  number.  Practical  teaching  is  clear,  im- 
pressive, and  moves  to  action.  If  your  teaching  causes  the 
pupil  to  think,  understand,  feel,  and  act,  it  is  practical  in 
the  highest  sense, 

VI.    His  Pastoral  Work. 
The  teacher  bears  something  of  the  relation  to  his  class 


48  HAxXDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK. 

that  the  pastor  does  to  his  congregation.  He  is  their  shep- 
herd in  spiritual  things.  This  relation  readily  suggests 
duties  in  this  direction. 

1.  He  is  to  know  his  flock.  The  shepherd  of  Palestine, 
of  whom  Jesus  spoke,  knew  the  name  and  face  of  every 
sheep  in  his  flock.  So  the  teacher  must  know  his  class, 
their  names,  places  of  abode,  dispositions,  and  the  world 
in  which  they  live,  their  home  life,  school  life,  street  life, 
social  life,  business  life — must  know  their  moral  and  spirit- 
ual condition.  To  do  this  he  must  visit  them  at  their 
homes,  their  school,  in  short,  must  go  into  the  world  in 
which  they  live. 

2.  He  is  to  lead  his  flock.  The  shepherd  went  before 
his  flock,  never  driving,  but  leading  them.  The  teacher 
must  lead  his  class,  in  thinking,  study,  and  living,  influ- 
ence them  for  good.  Often  he  will  lead  them  out  of  the 
world  in  which  he  finds  them  into  a  better  world,  or  life. 
To  do  this  it  is  well  to  have  them  at  his  home  and  cul- 
tivate a  good  social  atmosphere  for  them.  This  will  be 
leading  them  into  "green  pastures  and  beside  the  still 
waters."      Lead  them  to  Christ  and  into  the  church. 

3.  He  is  to  feed  his  flock.  The  shepherd  made  ever}^ 
preparation  to  feed  well  his  flock.  So  the  teacher  must 
prepare  out  of  school  to  feed  well  his  "little  flock"  in 
school. 

4.  This  pastorate  jueans  to  care  for  the  flock.  The  shep- 
herd nurses  the  sick  of  his  flock  and  carries  the  lambs  in 
his  bosom  across  the  streams.  So  there  is  much  pastoral 
work  for  the  teacher,  in  looking  after  the  sick,  and  helping 
the  lambs  over  the  many  streams  of  trial  and  doubt. 

5.  //  means  to  defend  the  flock.  In  the  East  the  sheep 
were  in  danger  of  being  attacked  by  wolves,  and  the  shep- 
herd would  hazard  his  life  in  defending  them.  How  many 
ravenous  beasts  seek  to  prey  upon  our  children  and  youth, 


THE   TEACHER 


49 


as  the  saloon,  the  theater,  the  ballroom,  and  many  other 
social  evils!  Let  the  teacher  be  found  on  the  right  side  of 
these  questions  and  ready  to  defend  his  class  from  them. 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

THE    TEACHER 


TT-    c  ]]'        /  '•    ■^^^'^  God 

^  \  2.   Made  Known  Through  the  Church 


-  I. 

A  Christian 

2. 

Consistent  Church-member 

3- 

Pious,  Prayerful,  Punctual 

Qualifications   ■< 

4- 

Personal  Magnetism 

5. 

Must  Love  the  Work 

6. 

Be  Friendly 

.  7- 

Natural  Teacher 
Study  What 

Preparation  - 

2. 

Study  How 

.  3- 

Study  Whom 

r  I 

Prayerful 

2. 

Reverent 

Study  - 

3' 

Habitual 

4. 

Systematic 

L  5. 

Thorough 

Teaching 


r  I.  sc 

\     2.    N 

i  3.  P> 


Sound  in  Doctrine 
atural  in  Method 
ractical  in  Application 


Pastoral  Work 


L  5 


1.  Know 

2.  Lead 

3.  Feed 

4.  Care  for 
Defend 


50     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

VII. 

HOW   TO   STUDY   A   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   LESSON. 

I  once  visited  a  mansion  on  a  hill  near  a  town  in  the 
mountain  region  of  West  Virginia.  My  object  was  pleasure 
and  information.  I  made  a  study  of  the  building  and 
premises.  In  doing  so  I  did  three  things  :  (i)  I  went  all 
around  the  building,  viewing  it  from  every  point  of  the 
compass,  (2)  I  went  all  through  it  from  cellar  to  dome, 
getting  a  magnificent  view  of  the  surrounding  country  from 
the  observatory  ;  I  also  studied  the  plan  of  its  construction, 
the  great  halls  and  stairways,  the  various  apartments  and 
rooms  and  their  relations  to  each  other.  (3)  Then  the 
gentleman  who  showed  me  through  told  me  all  he  knew 
about  it.  That  visit  and  study  suggested  to  me  three  rules 
for  the  study  of  a  Sunday-school  lesson,  which  I  give  in  the 
following  outline  : 

/   Study  all  Around  the  Lesson. 

If  I  had  viewed  the  mansion  from  only  a  single  point,  I 
should  have  gotten  only  a  partial  view  of  it.  So  with  a 
Bible  lesson,  we  must  study  the  lesson  text  in  all  its  sur- 
roundings, look  at  it  from  many  points  of  view. 

We  should  study  the  lesson 

\.  hi  its  historical stirroimdings.  For  illustration,  we  take 
a  passage  from  some  portion  of  one  of  the  Minor  Prophets, 
e.  g.,  Hosea.  We  cannot  understand  it  until  we  know 
when  Hosea  prophesied,  and  what  was  the  object  of  his 
prophecy,  determined  only  by  a  study  of  the  condition  of 
Israel  at  the  time  of  his  prediction.  In  other  words,  w^e 
must  know  the  history  that  called  forth  the  lesson  text. 
The  same  is  true  of  many  of  the  psalms.  If  the  lesson 
be  Ps.   137,  we   must  study  the  condition   of  the  Jews   in 


HOW    TO    STUDY    A    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    LESSON       5  I 

Babylon,    or  we    cannot    understand    it.     This    is  what    is 
called  "the  historic  setting  of  the  lesson." 
But  we  must  also  study  the  lesson 

2.  In  its  logical  surroundings,  that  is,  study  it  in  relation 
to  the  context.  Get  the  connection  between  the  present 
and  the  preceding  lesson.  If  we  are  to  take  a  few  verses 
from  a  given  book,  we  must  study  these  verses  in  relation 
to  the  book  as  a  whole.  It  is  often  necessary  to  read  the 
whole  book  through,  as  one  of  the  Minor  Prophets,  or 
Epistles,  to  get  the  logical  connection  of  the  lesson  text. 

Again,  it  is  often  essential  to  an  understanding  of  a  lesson, 
to  study  it 

3.  In  its  geographical  surroundings.  Many  of  the  allu- 
sions and  figures  of  Paul' s  Epistles  will  be  much  better  un- 
derstood when  we  know  where  he  was  and  how  he  was 
situated  when  writing.  When  a  prisoner,  surrounded  by 
soldiers  and  military  accoutrements  and  weapons,  it  was 
natural  for  him  to  describe  the  Christian  as  a  soldier  and 
the  Christian  life  as  a  warfare.  Dr.  David  Gregg  has  drawn 
a  most  interesting,  as  well  as  strong  and  conclusive,  argument 
for  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  whole  Bible  from  the  setting 
of  its  revelation,  the  testimony  of  the  land  to  the  book  in 
its  geography  and  history.  This  method  applies  to  the 
study  of  any  given  portion  of  the  Bible. 

Study  all  around  the  lesson. 

//    Study  all  Through  the  Lesson. 

To  study  all  through  a  lesson  is  to  study  it  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  to  explore  every  part  of  it  and  note  carefully 
the  relations  of  these  parts  to  each  other,  to  thoroughly 
analyze  it.  It  is  said  that  in  every  lesson  there  are  seven 
elements  :  time,  place,  person,  fact  or  thought,  difficulty, 
doctrine,  duty.  To  study  all  through  a  lesson  involves 
several  distinct  processes.     They  may  be  briefly  mentioned  : 


52  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

1.  Read  the  lesson  and  its  setting  until  the  mind  is 
familiar  with  it. 

2.  Make  a  paraphrase  of  the  facts  of  the  lesson  in  your 
own  language,  either  oral  or  written  or  both. 

3.  Be  sure  you  understand  the  meaning  of  every  word 
and  phrase  of  the  lesson  text.      Here  use  the  helps. 

4.  Find  all  the  practical  lessons  that  are  taught  in  the 
lesson  text  and  context,  and  write  them  out  in  a  brief  con- 
cise statement,  placing  them  in  their  natural  order. 

5.  Then  go  over  the  whole  lesson  with  your  class  before 
you,  and  select  such  truths  as  you  think  they  most  need 
and  that  you  will  have  time  to  teach. 

6.  Then  make  a  plan  of  teaching  it  to  your  class.  The 
plan  must  suit  the  grade  of  the  class  ;  a  primary  plan,  an 
intermediate  plan,  an  advanced  plan. 

7.  Pray  before  you  begin  the  study.  Pray  all  through  it, 
and  enfold  it  with  prayer  two  or  three  days  before  you 
teach  it. 

///    Study  all  About  the  Lesson. 

By  this  I  mean  that  the  teacher  should  study  the  lesson 
independently  all  that  he  can,  and  then  use  the  best  helps 
available.  It  is  a  very  poor  teacher  who  will  use  no  helps 
at  all  ;  it  is  a  worse  one  who  depends  entirely  upon  helps. 
If  the  teacher  can  find  for  himself  what  is  in  the  help,  so 
much  the  better.  The  helps  are  a  great  convenience  and 
time-saver.  We  offer  here  a  few  suggestions  in  regard  to 
lesson  helps  : 

I.  Use  the  best  of  your  own  denomination.  The  quar- 
terly your  class  uses,  and  the  teachers'  magazine, — for  the 
teacher  should  study  the  lesson  in  line  with  the  pupil,  only 
more  extensively  and  thoroughly.  For  that  reason  he 
should  have  the  teachers'  journal  and  a  good  lesson  commen- 
tary.    While  denominational  helps  should  come  first,  the 


HOW    TO    STUDY    A    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    LESSON       53 

teacher  is  not  confined  to  them.  There  are  some  excel- 
lent undenominational  lesson  helps,  as  "  Peloubet's  Select 
Notes,"  "The  Sunday  School  Times,"  and  "International 
Evangel." 

2.  Use  lesson  helps  as  helps.  Do  not  depend  too  much 
upon  them.  Study  independently  until  you  get  all  you  can, 
then  use  the  helps  to  perfect  your  work.  Or  study  the 
lesson  independently  until  you  get  hungry,  then  read  about 
it  until  you  get  full. 

3.  Use  the  helps  in  the  study  of  the  lesson,  and  not  in 
the  teaching  before  the  class.  The  questions  in  the  helps 
are  to  stimulate  study  upon  the  part  of  the  teacher.  He 
should  use  nothing  before  the  class  but  the  Bible,  neither 
should  the  class  use  anything  else. 

4.  In  addition  to  the  usual  periodical  lesson  helps,  the 
teacher  should  use  maps,  charts,  and  commentaries,  and 
especially  a  good  Bible  dictionary,  or  an  encyclopedia,  if 
he  has  access  to  one. 

5.  But  the  best  help  is  the  Bible  itself.  What  the  Bible 
says  about  the  lesson  in  other  passages  is  most  helpful. 
Consult  the  parallel  passages.  This  is  especially  necessary 
when  the  lessons  are  from  some  of  the  historical  books  of 
the  Old  Testament  or  from  the  Gospels. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  suggest  another  form  of  presenting 
the  three  rules  I  have  given  for  the  study  of  a  lesson  ;  this 
will  give  the  heart  preparation  as  well  as  the  intellectual. 
Memorize  them  in  this  form  : 

FIRST. 

1.  Study  all  aroinid  the  lesson. 

2.  Study  all  through  the  lesson. 

3.  Study  all  about  the  lesson. 

SECONDLY. 

I.    Pray  all  around  Xhe.  lesson. 


54 


HANDBOOK     ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 


2.  Pray  all  through  the  lesson. 

3.  Pray  all  about  the  lesson. 

Additio7ial  Hints  on  Preparation. 

1.  Begin  early. 

2.  Read  often. 

3.  Prepare  much  more  than  you  expect  to  teach. 

4.  Make  several  plans  of  teaching,  then  adopt  the  best. 

5.  Talk  with  others  about  the  lesson,   especially  at  the 
teachers'  meeting. 

6.  Remember  that  a  studious  teacher  makes  a  studious 
class. 

7.  Remember  also  that  a  full  teacher  makes  a  full  class, 
and  an  empty  teacher  an  empty  class. 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

HOW    TO    STUDY    THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    LESSON 


ii; 


Historical  Surroundings 
Study  All  Around     \   ^;   Geographical 


II. 

All  Through 


1.  Read  Less.  Fam. 

2.  Make  Paraphrase 

3.  Und.  Meaning  Word  and  Phrase 

4.  Find  Prac.  Lessons 

5.  Select  Truths 

6.  Make  Plan  :  Pri.,  Int.,  Adv. 

7.  Pray 


III. 

All  About  the  Lesson 


1.  Use  Best  Denom.  Helps  and  Others 

2.  Helps  as  Helps 

3.  Helps  in  Study  not  Teaching 

4.  Use  Com.,  Map,  Bible   Diet.,  Encyc. 

5.  Bible  Best  Help 


Memorize  :   Study,  Pray 


Hints  on 


THE    LAWS    OF    TEACHING  55 

1.  Begin  Early 

2.  Read  Often 

3.  Prepare  More  Teach 
T^             .                 ,4.   Several  Flans 
Preparation                ^^  Talk-Teachers'  Meeting 

I    6.   Studious  Teacher,  Studious  Class 
(^  7.   Full  Teacher,  Full  Class 


VIII. 
THE    LAWS    OF   TEACHING. 

What  is  teaching?  The  Bible,  to  my  mind,  furnishes  the 
best  definition.  We  may  formulate  it  from  Neh.  8:8: 
"They  (Ezra's  teachers)  read  in  the  book  in  the  law  of 
God  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense  and  caused  them  to  un- 
derstand the  reading."  Teaching  is  causing  another  to 
u?iderstand.  As  it  is  a  cause  of  which  learning  is  the 
effect,  it  must  be  governed  by  law.  Teaching  is  as  much 
governed  by  law  as  are  ' '  the  circling  planets  above  us  or 
the  growing  organisms  beneath  us."  If  we  would  teach 
we  must  know  and  observe  these  laws,  then  we  cannot  fail 
to  teach.  For  a  full,  thorough,  and  philosophical  discus- 
sion of  these  laws  we  refer  the  student  to  Gregory' s  ' '  Seven 
Laws  of  Teaching."  In  this  lesson  we  can  do  no  better 
than  to  give  a  summary  of  them,  stating  them  in  Doctor 
Gregory's  own  language,  and  illustrating  them  from  our 
own  experience  in  teaching.  There  are  seven  factors  in  all 
teaching,  no  matter  what  the  subject  may  be.  There  must 
be  a  teacher,  a  learner,  a  medium  of  communication  be- 
tween teacher  and  pupil,  a  lesson^  a  teaching  process,  a 
learning  process,  and  a  test.  These  he  formulates  into 
laws  as  follows  : 

/     The  Laiu  of  the  Teacher. 

It  is  so  simple  and  self-evident,  that  a  mere  statement  of 


56  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

it  would  seem  all  that  is  necessary.  It  is  thus  :  The 
teacher  must  kjiow  what  he  zuou/d  teach.  How  often  we 
attempt  to  teach  what  we  do  not  know,  that  is,  understand. 
If  we  do  not  understand  a  truth  ourselves,  how  can  we  ex- 
pect to  make  others  understand  it  ?  When  we  have  studied 
a  lesson  until  we  are  so  full  of  it  that  we  feel  we  must  teach 
it,  then  we  have  the  law,  though  reversed  in  terms,  in  its 
deepest  significance.  But  there  are  degrees  in  knowledge. 
We  may  know  a  truth  so  as  to  be  able 

1.  To  simply  recognize  it.  This  is  the  degree  of  a 
knowledge  of  thousands  of  persons  whom  I  have  simply 
met  once  or  twice.  This  is  the  lowest  degree  of  knowledge. 
Any  teacher  should  be  ashamed  not  to  go  beyond  this. 
The  teacher  should  know  the  truth  so  as  to  be  able 

2.  To  reproduce  it  at  will.  This  requires  a  degree  of 
familiarity  with  it.  It  may  be  only  a  surface  knowledge  of 
it, — ability  to  state  the  facts  of  a  truth  or  lesson  without  the 
reasons  therefor.  This  degree  is  insufficient  for  a  teacher. 
He  must  know  the  truth  so  as  to  be  able 

3.  To  explaiii  it.  They  "gave  the  sense"  in  Ezra's 
Bible-school.  The  inquiring  pupil  always  wants  to  know 
the  whys.  The  teacher  must  be  able  to  give  them,  or  to 
confess  ignorance.  There  are  some  Bible  truths  that  must 
be  taught  without  explanation,  as  the  Trinity  and  the 
nature  of  Christ.  But  this  does  not  change  the  law.  But 
no  truth  can  be  fully  understood  by  itself.  The  teacher 
must 

4.  Know  it  in  its  relations,  beauty,  and  power.  All  truth 
is  related.  This  is  especially  true  of  Bible  truth.  How  often 
do  we  get  new  views  of  old  and  familiar  texts.  These  views 
have  always  been  there,  we  have  simply  discovered  their 
new  relations.  Only  thorough  and  persistent  study  dis- 
covers them.  The  Bible  is  a  great  kaleidoscope — every 
time  we  turn  it  we  get  a  new  view  of  truth. 


THE    LAWS    OF    TEACHING  57 

//.    The  Law  of  the  Learner. 

No  matter  how  much  a  teacher  may  know,  and  how  well 
he  can  impart  it,  there  can  be  no  teaching  without  an  at- 
tentive and  interested  pupil.  Hence  the  law  of  the  learner 
is  as  follows  :  The  learner  must  attend  with  interest  to  the 
fact  or  truth  to  be  learned.  There  can  be  no  teaching 
without  attention,  and  hence  it  is  sure  failure  to  attempt  it. 
Under  this  law  we  may  inquire 

1.  What  is  attention?  It  has  been  defined  as  "mental 
attitude,"  the  attitude  of  the  whole  mind  toward  the  thing 
to  which  it  is  attending,  "the  will  power  marshaling  all 
the  faculties  of  the  mind  for  some  expected  onset."  Or  to 
avoid  all  technicality,  attention  is  being  "ready  to  learn." 
The  mind  aroused,  active,  and  eager  for  work. 

2.  W'  hat  kinds  of  attention  do  we  have  ?  Two,  com- 
pelled and  attracted.  The  first  is  forced  by  an  effort  of  the 
will  in  obedience  to  a  command.  It  is  short-lived  and 
easily  exhausted.  Attracted  attention  is  full  of  power  and 
is  long-lived.  Forced  attention  is  wearisome  to  the  mind. 
This  is  why  so  many  people  get  tired  in  church  and  Sun- 
day-school scholars  in  class.  The  preacher,  or  teacher, 
fails  to  interest,  and  attention  is  forced  for  courtesy's  sake. 
Attracted  attention  is  strengthening  to  the  mind  and  de- 
lightful to  give.  Forced  attention  may  be  made  to  grow 
into  the  attracted,  or  the  attracted  may  degenerate  into  the 
compelled. 

3.  upon  whom  devolves  the  responsibility  of  attention  ? 
With  the  teacher,  if  it  is  attracted  attention.  It  is  his  duty 
to  win  and  hold  the  attention  of  the  class.  Of  course  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  scholar  to  give  respectful  attention.  But 
the  teaching  should  be  of  such  a  character  that  it  is  de- 
lightful to  attend  to  it. 

4.  What  hinders  atte7ttio7i  ?     Lack  of  interest  upon  the 


58     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

part  of  the  pupil,  and  interruptions,  such  as  taking  collec- 
tions or  distributing  papers  during  class  work,  or  receiving 
visitors.  The  teacher  must  awaken  interest  in  the  subject, 
and  remove  the  first  hindrance,  and  then  suppress  all  inter- 
ruptions or  distractions.  Attention  must  be  a  unit ;  if  there 
is  division  in  the  mental  forces,  there  will  be  failure,  hence 
the  preachers  say,  "give  us  your  undivided  attention."  It 
is  a  law  of  the  mind  to  attend  to  that  which  interests  it ;  so 
the  one  sovereign  remedy  for  inattention  is  interest. 

5.  Violations  of  this  law.  The  law  of  attention  is  violated 
when  an  attempt  is  made  to  teach  without  it ;  when  an  effort 
is  made  to  hold  it  after  the  mind  of  the  pupil  is  exhausted  ; 
when  no  interest  in  the  subject  is  excited  ;  when  the  teacher 
reads  a  list  of  questions  out  of  a  lesson  help,  never  raising 
his  eyes  from  work  or  paper.  To  win  and  hold  attention, 
know  and  obey  its  laws.  ^ 

///    The  Law  of  the  Language. 

We  may  have  a  teacher  with  head  and  heart  full  of 
knowledge,  a  pupil  eager  to  learn  and  all  attention  ;  but 
there  can  be  no  teaching,  without  a  medium  of  communi- 
cation between  them.  This  medium  must  be  physical  and 
be  a  sign,  object,  motion,  written  or  spoken  language  ;  but 
both  teacher  and  pupil  must  alike  understand  it.  Hence, 
the  law  of  the  language  is  :  The  language  used  in  teaching 
must  be  common  to  teacher  and  learner.  Words  are  signs 
of  ideas.  If  the  idea  is  wanting  in  the  mind,  the  word  is 
a  senseless  sound  to  the  ear.  I  may  use  a  combination  of 
sounds,  as,  auto,  igna,  inpo,  solga,  dib,  sur  ;  but  what  sense 
is  there  in  them  ?  But  if  both  the  speaker  and  hearer  recog- 
nize an  idea  in  each  sound,  thought  is  communicated.  In 
the  application  of  this  law 

I.   The  teacher  must  keep  within  the  vocabulary  of  the 

^See  Lesson  IX. 


THE    LAWS    OF    TEACHING  59 

pupil.  The  teacher  usually  knows  many  more  words  than 
his  pupil,  and  is  constantly  violating  this  law,  and  failure 
in  teaching  is  the  result.  I  heard  a  preacher  "explain  (?) 
hope"  to  a  class  of  little  girls  in  this  way  :  "Children,  you 
know  this  beautiful  stream  of  water  running  behind  the 
meeting-house  is  composed  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  ;  so 
hope  is  composed  of  two  elements,  desire  and  expectation," 
It  would  have  been  a  good  illustration  for  a  class  that  had 
been  studying  chemistry. 

2.  Words  of  double  meaning  must  be  explained.  A  boy 
hitched  his  horse  to  a  post,  and  then  read  to  his  mother  in 
the  Bible,  "My  days  are  swifter  than  a  post,"  and  he  was 
puzzled,  for  the  post  did  not  go  ahead.  Another  boy  read, 
"The  wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth,"  and  said  he 
would  like  to  see  that  wicked  Jfea  that  no  man  pursueth. 

3.  The  figurative  language  of  the  Bible  often  puzzles 
children,  because  they  give  to  words  their  literal  meaning. 
Trumbull  says,  when  he  was  a  boy  in  Sunday-school 
they  told  him  he  had  to  be  either  a  sheep  or  a  goat,  and 
he  wanted  to  grow  up  and  be  a  man. 

4.  The  teacher  should  avoid  high-sounding  words,  or 
"big  words,"  just  for  the  sake  of  using  them.  A  story  is 
told  of  a  teacher  who  asked  the  following  question  on  the 
"husks"  that  the  swine  did  eat  in  the  parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son :  ' '  Boys,  are  you  of  the  opinion  that  the  custom- 
ary aliment  of  swine  is  congenial  to  the  digestive  apparatus 
of  the  gefiiis  Jiodio  ?  ' '  All  the  answer  he  got  was,  ' '  Eh  ? ' ' 
No  law  of  teaching  is  more  violated  than  this  law  of  the 
language.  Teacher  and  learner  must  perfectly  understand 
each  other  if  there  are  to  be  the  best  results  in  teaching. 

5.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the  language  of 
things  is  as  forcible  in  expression  as  that  of  words.  The 
eye  is  often  more  eloquent  than  the  voice  ;  the  expressions 
of  the  face,  the  movement  of  the  limbs  and  body,  aid  the 


6o     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

words  in  expressing  their  ideas.  A  German  described 
John  B.  Gough  as  "the  man  what  talks  mit  his  coat-tails." 
Use  objects  and  pictures,  which  make  the  most  lasting  im- 
pressions on  the  child  mind. 

6.  A  few  suggestions  grow  out  of  this  law.  (i)  The  teacher 
should  know,  improve,  and  use  the  pupil' s  vocabulary.  Use 
child  language  with  children,  and  technical  language  with 
scholars  and  critics.  (2)  Use  short  words  and  sentences. 
(3)  Use  variety  of  expression.  (4)  Use  objects,  pictures, 
and  illustrations. 

IV.    The  Law  of  the  Lesson. 

The  lesson  is  the  center  of  the  teacher  s  work.  It  is  the 
truth  that  is  to  be  transferred  from  the  mind  and  heart  of 
the  teacher  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  pupil.  It  has  to 
do  with  the  known  and  the  unknown.  With  the  teacher  it 
is  known,  and  the  pupil  unknown.  It  is  a  fact  that  we  can 
learn  the  unknown  only  by  comparison  with  what  we  already 
know,  hence.  Doctor  Gregory's  fourth  law  is  :  The  truth 
to  be  taught  must  be  learned  through  the  truth  already 
known.  "  Knowledge  is  truth  discovered  and  understood." 
Hidden  truth  is  not  knowledge  until  it  is  revealed  and  ex- 
plained. Truth  is  like  the  precious  metal,  it  may  be  hid 
in  a  deep  mine,  known  only  to  God  who  put  it  there  ;  but 
when  it  is  discovered,  mined,  and  put  to  use,  it  is  the 
known,  or  knowledge.  The  known  to  an  individual  is  what 
he  has  mastered  and  made  his  own.  With  this  we  must 
begin  to  teach.      In  the  application  of  this  law  we  must 

1.  Begin  with  what  the  pupil  knows.  What  he  knows  of 
the  lesson,  or  what  he  knows  that  is  like  the  lesson.  Find 
what  the  pupil  knows  and  make  use  of  it. 

2.  Proceed  step  by  step  by  comparison,  comparing  the 
known  with  the  unknown,  connecting  lessons  already  learned 
with  those  to  be  learned. 


THE    LAWS    OF    TEACHING  01 

3.  Make  the  steps  short,  easy,  and  natural.  Learning  is 
like  climbing  a  ladder,  but  the  rungs  must  not  be  too  far 
apart.  Yet  these  steps  must  be  in  proportion  to  the  ability 
of  the  student  to  climb. 

4.  Avoid  violations  of  this  law.  They  are  many,  as,  as- 
signing too  long  and  too  difficult  tasks,  attempting  to 
teach  too  much  at  a  time,  attempting  to  explain  the  un- 
known by  the  unknown,  by  using  strange  illustrations,  fail- 
ing to  use  the  pupils'  knowledge,  or  to  show  the  connection 
it  bears  to  the  new  truth. 

F.    The  Law  of  the  Teaching  Process. 

The  first  four  laws  of  the  teacher,  the  learner,  the  lan- 
guage, the  lesson,  show  the  nature  of  teaching  ;  the  next 
three,  the  processes  or  these  laws  in  motion.  Truth  cannot 
be  conveyed  from  one  mind  to  another  as  a  basket  of  po- 
tatoes can  be  emptied  into  another  basket,  but  it  must 
"be  recognized,  re-thought  by  the  receiving  mind."  There 
is  no  teaching  unless  the  pupil's  mind  is  active  on  the  same 
thought  of  the  teacher.  Hence,  the  law  of  the  teaching 
process  is  :  Excite  and  direct  the  self-activities  of  the 
learner,  and  tell  hint  nothing  he  can  learn  for  himself 

By  careful  study  of  this  l^w  of  the  teaching  process,  we 
may  find  the  function  of  the  teacher — not  to  tell  a  truth, 
nor  read  a  truth  out  of  a  book,  but  to  lead  out  the  pupil  to 
discover  the  truth  for  himself  This  he  may  do  by  creating 
in  him  a  desire  to  know,  by  showing  him  the  value  of 
knowledge,  by  being  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  truth 
himself,  by  waking  up  the  mind  and  setting  it  to  work  by 
proper  questions,  by  setting  before  the  pupil  the  knowledge 
he  wants  to  teach  as  a  prize  and  encouraging  him  to  win 
it,  by  keeping  constantly  in  mind  that  the  great  aim  of 
study  and  teaching  is  to  acquire  knowledge  and  to  develop 
power.      Many  learn  without  a  teacher,  which  shows  that 


62     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

the  work  of  the  teacher  is  not  to  cram  information  into  the 
mind  of  the  pupil  but  to  aid  him  to  self-learning,  and 
strengthen  him  in  self-confidence. 

The  function  of  the  Sunday-school  teacher  is  wider  and 
deeper  than  that  of  any  other  teacher,  except  the  gospel 
minister,  because  he  not  only  excites  and  directs  the  intel- 
lect of  his  pupil,  but  has  an  influence  over  all  his  powers, 
moral  and  religious.  By  the  exercise  of  these  the  pupil's 
intellectual  powers  are  more  evenly  adjusted,  and  he  is  much 
more  of  a  man  for  this  symmetrical  development. 

From  this  law  we  may  deduce  a  few  practical  suggestions 
for  the  teacher  : 

1.  Do  not  mistake  telling  for  teaching.  You  may  tell 
the  same  fact  ten  times  and  no  one  will  learn  it.  You  only 
have  to  teach  it  once. 

2.  Thorough  teaching  aids  the  memory.  If  the  pupil 
fails  to  remember  the  last  lesson  it  is  because  he  failed  to 
learn  it  well. 

3.  In  the  recitation  do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  for 
answers.      Give  the  pupils  time  to  think. 

4.  Do  not  put  the  answer  into  the  question  ;  that  is  only 
another  way  of  telling. 

5.  Do  not  exhaust  the  subject  of  the  lesson,  but  raise 
additional  points  for  pupils  to  look  up  afterward. 

VI.    The  Law  of  the  Learning  Process. 

On  the  learning  process  we  pass  to  the  side  of  the  pupil. 
The  law  of  the  teaching  process  shows  the  means  of  self- 
activities,  and  the  law  of  the  learning  process  the  manner 
of  employing  these  activities.  Doctor  Gregory  thus  states 
the  law  :  "The  learner  must  reproduce  in  his  own  mind  the 
truth  to  be  acquired.''' 

This  law  can  be  of  great  service  to  the  pupil  in  studying 
his  lesson.      Simply  repeating  back  to  the    teacher  in  the 


THE    LAWS    OF    TEACHING  63 

same  words  what  has  been  told  him,  is  no  evidence  of 
learning  on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  The  pupil  must  re-think 
and  reproduce  the  lesson  in  his  own  words,  is  the  meaning 
of  this  law.  Yea,  more,  the  learner  must  use  the  new 
truth  thus  gained  in  investigating  for  himself  the  dis- 
covery of  additional  new  truth.  Both  teacher  and  pupil 
should  be  investigators. 

Doctor  Gregory  makes  five  stages  in  learning  a  lesson  . 

1.  Memorized  and  recited  word  for  word. 

2.  Understanding  the  thought  of  the  lesson. 

3.  Translating  the  thought  into  the  pupil's  own  words. 
Here  the  work  of  discovery  begins. 

4.  Proving  the  statements  made  in  the  lesson.  Espe- 
cially the  Bible  student  should  see  that  "these  things  are 
so." 

5.  The  highest  stage  is  to  see  the  uses  and  application  of 
the  knowledge  thus  learned. 

No  lesson  is  completely  learned  that  does  not  pass 
through  these  five  stages. 

To  this  law  there  are  two  limitations  : 

1.  The  age  and  power  of  the  pupil. 

2.  The  kind  of  knowledge  studied. 
Suggestions. 

This  law  suggests  : 

1.  Slow,  patient,  thorough  study,  until  clearness  is 
reached. 

2.  Avoiding  the  slavish  habit  of  clinging  to  the  language 
of  the  book  or  teacher. 

3.  Original  thinking. 

4.  Finding  the  whys  and  wherefores  of  the  lesson. 

5.  Above  all  to  find  the  practical  applications  of  the 
truth  learned.  There  is  always  more  in  a  Bible  lesson  than 
lies  on  the  surface  of  its  f;icts. 


64  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

VII.    The  Law  of  Review. 

We  might  think  that  when  the  processes  of  the  foregoing 
laws  have  been  employed  by  teacher  and  pupil  together 
that  the  work  would  be  done.  Not  so.  One  more  thing, 
often  the  most  difficult  to  do,  must  be  done.  The  work 
must  be  tested.  This  is  done  only  by  review.  The  law  is 
stated  as  follows  :  The  completion,  test,  and  confirm atio7i 
of  teaching,  must  be  ?nade  by  reviews. 

The  law  states : 

1.  The  aim  of  reviews,  which  is  three-fold,  (i)  To  com- 
plete knowledge,  dressing  it  up,  putting  on  "the  finishing 
touches,"  polish.  (2)  To  confirm  knowledge.  "Line 
upon  line,  and  precept  upon  precept,"  is  the  Bible  injunc- 
tion. Continuous  drill  on  the  same  truth  confirms  it,  and 
fixes  it  in  the  mind.  General  Grant  said,  that  he  was  kept 
saying  for  six  years  in  school,  that  "a  noun  is  the  name  of 
a  person,  place,  or  thing,"  and  after  a  while  he  came  to  be- 
lieve it.  (3)  To  facilitate  the  use  of  knowledge.  The  reason 
why  a  skillful  musician  can  "run  the  scales"  of  a  piano  so 
rapidly  and  gracefully,  is  that  the  hands  have  gone  over 
that  keyboard  thousands  of  times.  I  have  learned  that  the 
oftener  I  teach  the  same  lesson,  or  preach  the  same  ser- 
mon, the  better  I  can  do  it.      It  is  the  result  of  review. 

2.  The  nature  of  review,  (i)  It  is  more  than  mere  rep- 
etition. Review  is  a  new  view  in  many  respects.  A  ma- 
chine repeats  exactly  the  same  process,  but  a  teacher  should 
not  be  a  mere  machine.  Review  in  different  forms  of  ex- 
pression. (2)  Reviews  may  be  partial  or  complete.  In 
our  Sunday-school  system,  we  should  have  a  weekly  re- 
view of  every  lesson,  and  a  quarterly  review  of  all  the 
lessons  of  the  quarter.  (3)  Reviews  often  bring  out  new 
truth.  This  is  especially  true  in  Bible  study.  Our  last 
study  of  a  given  passage  is  the  bc^t. 


THE    LAWS    OF    TEACHING 


65 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 


LAWS    OF    TEACHING 


f  I.   Recognize 
I.  J    2.   Reproduce 

Teacher    1    3.   Explain 

[  4.   Relations,  Beauty,  Power 


II. 

Learner 


1.  What  is  Attention? 

2.  Kind  of  Attention 

3.  Responsibility  for  Attention 

4.  Hindering  Attention 

5.  Violations 


III. 
Language 


1.  Pupil's  Vocabulary 

2.  Double  Meanings 

3.  Figures  of  Speech 

4.  Big  Words  . 

5.  Of  Objects 

6.  Suggestions:  Use 


1.  Pupil's  Vocabulary 

2.  Short  Words  and  Sentences 

3.  Variety  of  Expression 

4.  Objects,  Pictures 


r  I.  Begin  with  the  Known 

IV.         J    2.  Steps  of  Comparison 

Lesson     1   3.  Make  Short,  Easy,  Natural 

[  4.  Violations 


V. 

Teaching 
Process 


I.   Function  of  Teacher  :  Aid,  Strengthen 

1.  Telling  Not  Teaching 

2.  Thorough  Teaching  Remembered 
Suggestions     \    3.   Don't  Hurry 

4.  Answers  in  Questions 

5.  Don't  Exhaust  Subject 


VI. 

Learning 
Process 


Memorize,  Recite 
Understand 
Translate 
Prove 

See  Uses 


Limited  by 


Age  of  Pupil 
Kind  of 
Knowledge 


66     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 


VII. 

Reviews 


{I.  To  Complete  Knowledge 
2.  To  Confirm  Knowledge 
3.  To  Facilitate  Use  of  Knowledge 

{I.   More  than  Repetition 
2.   Partial  or  Complete 
3.   Develops  New  Truth 


IX. 

HOW  TO  TEACH  A  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  LESSON. 

If  the  teacher  will  master  the  principles  of  teaching  as 
outlined  in  the  last  lesson,  he  will  have  but  little  difficulty 
in  teaching  any  lesson.  We  assume  that  the  teacher  and 
class  are  both  prepared  on  a  given  lesson,  and  are  now 
brought  face  to  face  in  the  class.  To  secure  the  best  re- 
sults of  a  recitation,  we  must 

/.    Have  Favorable  External  Conditions. 

There  are  some  circumstances  under  which  it  would  be 
impossible  to  teach.  If  the  house  were  on  fire  we  should 
not  attempt  it.  If  everything  around  us  is  in  confusion  it 
were  almost  as  useless.  To  do  my  best  in  teaching,  I  would 
want : 

1.  A  classroom  for  myself  and  class  alone.  If  it  were 
only  curtained  from  the  main  room  I  would  want  this. 
That  I  could  have  in  connection  with  almost  any  school. 

2.  A  blackboard.  Semelroth'  s  endless,  gum-cloth  roller- 
board  is  the  best.  I  would  make  my  own  maps  on  the 
board  or  large  sheets  of  paper. 

3.  Freedom  from  interruption.  Register  attendance, 
take  the  collection,  and  introduce  visitors  or  new  scholars, 
all  before  the  teaching  begins.  After  beginning  allow 
nothing  to  interrupt  the  clnss-work. 


HOW    TO    TEACH    A    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    LESSON      6/ 

//    Get  and  Hold  the  Attentioti  of  the  Class. 

This  is  absolutely  essential,  as  there  can  be  no  teaching 
without  it.  Never  begin  without  it.  It  is  the  "Law  of  the 
Learner,"  and  if  it  is  violated,  failure  will  be  the  inevitable 
result.      How  ? 

1.  Through  the  eye.  Exhibit  an  object,  no  matter  what  ; 
make  a  mark,  or  even  feign  to  make  one  on  the  board,  and 
it  will  attract  the  attention  of  the  class  at  once. 

2.  By  startling  or  odd  questions.  I  once  got  the  atten- 
tion of  a  wriggling  class  of  boys,  on  Easter  Sunday,  by  be- 
ginning with  the  question:  "Boys,  do  you  like  eggs?" 
"How  do  you  like  them  cooked  ?"    etc. 

3.  Hold  the  attention  by  keepittg  up  the  i7iterest  in  the 
lesson.  If  any  one  pupil  seems  to  grow  inattentive,  wake 
him  up  with  a  question.  The  question  is  the  instrument  to 
awaken  interest.  Encourage  the  pupils  also  to  ask  ques- 
tions.     But  avoid  discussion  for  discussion's  sake. 

///.  Review  the  Last  Lesson  and  Connect  it  with  the  Present. 

This  is  in  accordance  with  the  "Law  of  the  Lesson." 
New  truth  is  learned  from  the  truth  already  known.  If  the 
lesson  is  the  beginning  of  a  new  series,  then  begin  with  the 
approach  to  the  lesson.  This  approach  should  always  be- 
gin with  something  the  pupil  knows. 

LV.   Bring  Out  by  Questions  the  Facts  of  the  Lesson. 

The  facts  must  be  gotten  as  the  basis  of  doctrinal  and 
practical  teaching  in  the  lesson.     This  may  be  done 

1.  By  questioning  from  the  pupils  what  they  know. 

2.  By  questioning  into  them  what  they  do  not  know. 

3.  By  questioning  out  what  has  been  questioned  in, 

4.  By  letting  in  the  light  through  the  windows  of  illus- 
tration. 


68     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

V.    Then  Find  and  Formulate  the  Great  Doctrinal  Points 
of  the  Lessson. 

Do  not  aim  to  bring  out  every  doctrine  and  formulate  it, 
but  a  few  of  the  most  prominent.  This  may  be  done  in 
two  ways  : 

1.  Get  each  pupil,  if  possible,  to  find  and  state  a  doc- 
trine.     If  several  find  the  same  thing  so  much  the  better. 

2.  Or  ask,  "How  does  this  lesson  teach  the  doctrine  of 
'the  atonement'  ?"  for  instance. 

VI.   Find  and  Apply  the  Practical  Lessons. 

This  is  the  part  of  the  teaching  most  important  and  most 
neglected.  Never  consider  the  lesson  taught  without  the 
practical  lessons  applied. 

Illustrations  that  move  the  heart  make  the  best  applica- 
tion.    The  aims  of  the  application  are  : 

1.  To  awaken  the  impenitent. 

2.  To  lead  the  inquirer  to  Christ. 

3.  To  encourage,  comfort,  and  consecrate  the  believer. 

VII.    Review  and  Leave  the  Lesson  as  a  Whole  on  the  Alind. 

This  can  be  done  best  by  putting  it  on  the  board.  Allit- 
eration aids  the  memor}'.  I  used  with  good  effect  in  the 
lesson  on  The  Three  Hebrews  in  the  Fiery  Furnace,  the  fol- 
lowing summary  : 


F 


URIOUS 

lERY  FURNACE 

EARLESS 

AITHFUL 

OUR 


The  furious  king  had  the  Hebrews  thrown  into  the  fiery 
furnace  because  they  w^ould  not  worship  his  image  ;  but  they 
were  fearless  and  faithful,  and  the  fourth  person,  the  Son  of 
God,  was  with  them  and  protected  them. 


Seeking 

T 

Instructed  in 

T 

R 

Believing 

H 

U 

Obeying 

e 

T 

Rejoicing  in 

H 

HOW    TO    TEACH    A    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    LESSON     69 

I  have  also  used  the  following  in  teaching  the  lesson  on 
Philip  and  the  Eunuch. 

After  getting  the  setting  and  circumstances  of  the  text, 
note  that  here  we  have 

S 
I 

E 
R 

Hi7its  on  Teaching  the  Lesson, 

1.  If  in  a  separate  room  begin  and  end  the  lesson  with 
prayer.      Yet  that  may  be  done  anywhere. 

2.  Make  the  recitation  sprightly.      Don' t  let  it  drag. 

3.  Preserve  a  reverent  spirit  throughout  the  lesson. 
Avoid  frivolity,  but  be  cheerful. 

4.  Encourage  the  class  to  ask  as  well  as  answer  questions. 

5.  Assign  work  to  each  pupil  on  the  next  lesson. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

HOW    TO    TEACH    A    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    LESSON 

I.  r   I.   Separate  Room 

Favorable  Ex-    \    2.    Blackboard 


ternal  Conditions  y  3.  Freedom  from  Interruptions 

II.  r  I.  Through  the  Eye 

Getting  and       \   2.  Starding  Questions 

Holding  Att'n     (  3.  Keep  up  Interest 


III.  r  See  "  Law  of  Lesson  " 
Connec'g  Rev'w\  Use  "  Law  of  Approach" 

IV.  r  I.   Questioning  Out  What  Pupil  Knows 
Question  on       J    2.   Questioning  in  What  Pupil  Does  Not  Know 

Facts  I    3.   Questioning  Out  What  Pupil  Has  Learned 

[  4.    Illustrations 


70  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

V.  r  ,    T7_„u  TD.-„:i  Yind  One 


^         ,  ]    I.  Each  Pupil 

Doctd^al  Points  1   ^-   ^^'"^  '^  ^^^  Doctrine  Taught? 

(I.  To  A 
-^  2.  To  L 
is.  ToE 


VI,  C  I.   To  Awaken  Impenitent 

Practical         -I  2.  To  Lead  Inquirers  to  Christ 
Application       (3.  To  Encourage, Comfort, Consecrate,  Believers 


VII.   Review,  Whole  Lesson,  Examples 
Prayer 
Sprightliness 
Hints     -j    Reverence 

Questions  by  Class 
Assign  ^Vork 


X. 

QUESTIONING. 

There  is  nothing  so  important,  so  essential,  and  difficult 
in  teaching  as  questioning.  The  question  may  be  said  to 
be  the  instrument  in  teaching. 

Defi7iitio7is.  The  question  has  been  variously  defined, 
as  :  "an  incomplete  statement,"  the  teacher  stating  part  of 
a  proposition  in  such  a  way  that  it  requires  the  answer  to 
the  question  to  complete  it,  e.  g.,  "Who  baptized  Jesus?" 
Ans.,  "John  the  Baptist";   putting  it   in  the  declarative 

form,  we  would  say  :   "Jesus  was  baptized  by ."     Here 

it  takes  the  addition  of  John  the  Baptist  to  complete  the 
statement.  Again,  a  question  is  "  a  corkscrew"  to  draw- 
out  thoughts  from  the  pupil  ;  "a  shuttle"  flying  back  and 
forth  between  teacher  and  pupil,  weaving  the  warp  and 
woof  of  the  lesson;  "a  pickaxe"  to  dig  into  the  deep 
mine  of  Bible  truth  ;  "  a  probe  "  to  prick  the  conscience 
of  the  pupil. 

/    The  Value  of  the  Question. 

I.   //  awakens  attention.     A  question  being  "an  incom- 


QUESTIONING  J I 

plete  Statement,"  and  the  mind  recognizing  only  a  part  of 
the  statement,  at  once  interest  arises  to  know  the  remainder 
of  it,  or  the  answer.  Nothing  wakes  up  a  drowsy,  listless 
audience  in  public  address  so  quickly  as  for  the  speaker  to 
throw  in  a  few  sharp  interrogatives.  If  a  pupil  becomes  in- 
attentive, fire  a  few  questions  at  him. 

2.  It  tests  the  pupil' s  preparation  of  the  lesson.  The  pu- 
pil cannot  complete  the  statement  of  a  partial  proposition 
unless  he  knows  it,  and  he  cannot  know  it  without  previous 
study.  If  he  knows  that  his  knowledge  is  thus  to  be  tested, 
it  will  also  stimulate  him  to  study.  If  the  teacher  lectures 
to  his  class,  the  pupil  may  depend  upon  him  to  tell  every- 
thing about  the  lesson. 

3.  //  develops  thought.  If  the  mind  does  not,  at  the 
time  the  question  is  propounded,  recognize  the  answer  that 
completes  the  partial  proposition,  it  goes  at  once  in  search 
for  it.  Thus  it  awakens  desire,  prompts  inquiry,  directs 
research,  and  is  "  a  positive  teaching  power." 

4.  //  tests  the  teacher  s  work.  The  question  is  espe- 
cially valuable  in  review.  The  teacher  cannot  know 
whether  he  has  imparted  a  single  idea  until  the  pupil  gives 
it  back  to  him.  The  teacher,  especially  in  a  Sunday- 
school  class,  where  study  is  voluntary,  must  necessarily  tell 
much  of  the  truth  he  wants  to  communicate,  but  he  should 
never  leave  the  lesson  until  he  has  gotten  it  all  back  from 
the  class  by  questions. 

5.  //  arouses  the  conscience.  Here  is  where  it  is  "a 
probe."  I  was  first  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  need  of 
conversion,  by  the  minister  coming  to  me  in  the  congrega- 
tion, taking  me  by  the  hand,  and  looking  me  straight  in 
the  face,  saying,  "Young  man,  are  you  a  Christian?"  It 
went  to  the  heart.  A  superintendent  once  asked  his  secre- 
tary, amoral  young  man,  "What  became  of  Noah's  car- 
penters?"    That  question  led  to  his  conversion.      He  felt 


72     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

that  he  was  helping  to  build  the  ark  without  any  hope  of 
getting  into  it.  (See  John  6  :  6/  ;  Luke  lo  :  36,  37.)  The 
teacher  has  no  more  powerful  instrument  in  reaching  the 
heart  of  his  pupil  than  the  question. 

6.  The  question  is  also  valuable  in  correcting  the  pupils' 
mistakes.  When  pupils  answer  wrongly,  do  not  flatly  con- 
tradict them,  but  lead  them  to  see  the  errors  by  a  series  of 
questions.  It  is  much  better  to  lead  pupils  to  find  their 
own  mistakes  than  directly  to  point  them  out  to  them. 

//    The  Preparation  of  Questions. 

"Any  fool  can  ask  a  question,"  says  an  old  proverb,  but 
the  question  of  a  fool  will  be  a  foolish  question.  It  takes  a 
wise  man  to  ask  wise  questions.  To  learn  the  art  and  wis- 
dom of  questioning  : 

1.  Study  the  questions  of  children.  They  go  directly  to  the 
point.  A  minister  once,  after  preaching  a  very  noisy  sermon, 
went  home  with  one  of  his  deacons  for  dinner,  who  had  a 
bright  little  girl,  five  or  six  years  old.  The  minister  took 
her  on  his  lap  to  talk  to  her,  when  she  looked  up  into  his 

face,  and    said  :    "Mr.  ,  what   for   you    scream  so?" 

That  was  sufficient.  Arouse  the  questioning  spirit  in  a  child, 
which  is  easy  to  do,  then  watch  it  work.  Then  think  how 
you  can  apply  what  you  have  learned  to  teaching.  I  learn 
some  of  my  most  valuable  lessons  from  children. 

2.  Ask  questio7is  with  others.  For  instance,  at  teachers' 
meeting  let  all  take  their  turn  in  asking  questions  on  the 
lesson.  At  first  the  exercise  will  drag,  but  after  a  little 
persistence  it  will  begin  to  grow,  and  become  an  easy  and 
delightful  exercise.  The  same  may  be  practised  in  any  so- 
cial gathering  on  any  subject.  We  used  to  have  spelling 
matches  and  pronouncing  "bees,"  why  not  get  up  a  ques- 
tioning "  bee"  ? 

3.  Write  questions  on  the  lesson.      If  the    teacher  will 


QUESTIONING  73 

write  twenty-five  or  thirty  questions  on  the  lesson,  keeping 
in  mind  the  needs  of  his  pupils,  the  scope  of  the  lesson, 
and  the  line  he  proposes  to  pursue,  he  will  find  it  exceed- 
ingly profitable  in  acquiring  the  art  of  questioning. 

4.  Study  the  published  questions  in  the  lesson  helps.  As 
we  have  said  before,  and  cannot  too  often  insist  upon, 
these  printed  questions  are  for  the  teacher's  study  of  the 
lesson  at  home,  and  not  for  his  use  before  the  class.  They 
are  helpful  in  awakening  thought,  stimulating  inquiry,  and 
directing  a  line  of  preparation.  If  the  teacher  will  prepare 
a  list  of  questions  on  the  lesson,  before  he  examines  those 
in  the  helps,  he  will  be  encouraged  with  his  own  work,  and 
find  valuable  aid  in  revising  and  perfecting  his  own  list. 
He  may  not  use  exactly  either  list  before  the  class,  but  the 
preparation  will  make  him  able  to  use  what  at  the  time  of 
teaching  he  feels  is  necessary. 

///   Some  Characteristics  of  Good  Questions. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  good  questions  and  good 
answers  come  out  of  a  thorough  and  complete  knowledge  of 
the  subject  upon  which  they  are  asked.  The  following  are 
some  of  the  characteristics  of  good  questions  to  a  Sunday- 
school  class  : 

I.  Originality.  They  are  to  be  bred  and  born  in  the 
teacher's  brain,  not  read  from  a  printed  list.  I  once  heard 
a  man  give  a  "model  lesson"  (?)  in  a  Sunday-school  con- 
vention. He  copied  veybatim  the  list  of  questions  in  the 
quarterly  on  the  blackboard,  and  read  them  off  to  the 
class.  If  he  had  simply  handed  the  printed  list  to  the 
class  it  would  have  saved  him  that  labor.  No  one  knows 
so  well  as  the  true  teacher  what  questions  should  be  pro- 
pounded to  his  class,  for  no  one  knows  the  class  as  he  is 
supposed  to  know  it.  Hence,  he  should  seek  to  make  his 
questions  his  own. 


74  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

2.  Clearness.  The  word  clear  (from  clarus,  bright,  bril- 
liant), originally  refers  to  that  which  shines  and  impresses 
the  senses  through  the  eye  without  any  obstruction.  A 
clear  question  is  one  that  comes  to  the  mind  of  the  pupil 
without  dimness,  dullness,  obstruction,  or  obscurity.  The 
pupil  must  know  what  the  teacher  means  by  the  question, 
and  this  he  cannot  know  if  the  question  is  not  clear.  It 
should  shine  with  divine  truth  as  the  subject  of  its  inquiry. 
If  the  teacher  would  be  called  a  "bright"  teacher,  let  him 
ask  clear  questions. 

3.  Sijnplicity.  That  is  singleness.  A  simple  question 
contains  a  single  idea  and  requires  but  one  answer.  "Con- 
junctions," says  W.  T.  Young,  on  the  art  of  questioning, 
"  should  never  be  employed  in  crowding  several  details  into 
one  question  ;  too  many  points  presented  at  once  to  the 
mind  of  the  pupil  distract  his  attention,  and  render  an 
answer,  if  not  impossible,  at  least  slow  and  uncertain." 
Suppose  a  teacher  should  ask  concerning  John  the  Baptist. 
"Who  was  John  the  Baptist,  and  what  was  his  mission, 
how  did  he  dress,  and  where  and  how  did  he  preach,  and 
how  did  his  plain  preaching  cost  him  his  life,  and  at 
whose  hands?"  At  once  the  mind  of  the  pupil  is  con- 
fused at  so  long  a  compound  question.  Break  it  up  into 
simple  questions  and  he  will  easily  and  readily  answer  all 
of  them. 

4.  Variety.  The  same  question  may  be  put  in  a  variety 
of  forms.  If  it  is  not  understood  because  the  teacher  has 
made  it  too  difficult,  then  it  should  be  stated  in  an  easier 
form  ;  or  it  may  contain  language  familiar  to  the  teacher,  but 
unknown  to  the  pupil,  then  the  phraseology  must  be 
changed.  Again,  the  same  thought  in  a  question  may  be 
put  in  a  variety  of  ways,  when  the  teacher  wants  to  impress 
it  on  the  memory,  e.  g., 

What  prophet  was  taken  to  heaven  without  dying  ? 


QUESTIONING  75 

Elijah. 

Who  was  taken  to  heaven  in  a  chariot  ? 

EHjah. 

Who  besides  Enoch  was  translated  ? 

Elijah. 

5-  Siiggestiveness.  Not  so  much  should  the  question 
suggest  the  answer  as  thought  along  the  line  of  the  answer. 
If,  for  instance,  you  want  to  make  the  pupil  think  of  the  new 
truth  you  want  to  teach,  ask  him  questions  about  something 
he  knows  that  is  like  the  new  truth.  Thus  according  to  a 
law  of  the  mind  you  help  the  pupil  to  make  a  comparison 
between  "the  known  and  unknown"  himself,  which  is  far 
better  than  making  it  for  him. 

6.  Practicalness,  or  the  quality  of  being  practical.  The 
aim  of  teaching  in  the  Sunday-school  is  broader  than  that 
of  the  secular  school.  The  aim  of  the  latter  is  to  develop 
and  instruct  the  mind,  while  that  of  the  former,  in  addition, 
is  to  reach  the  heart  and  the  moral  and  religious  life  of  the 
pupil.  This  is  its  main  aim,  and  hence  the  teaching  must 
largely  be  practical,  and  the  questions  must  not  only  test 
the  intelligence  of  the  pupil,  but  the  state  of  his  heart  as 
well.      Here  the  question  is  a  probe. 

IV.   Suggestions  Concerning  Answers. 

Good  questioning  brings  as  a  rule  good  answers,  and 
poor  questioning  poor  answers.      Note  a  few  suggestions  : 

1.  The  answer  should  be  clear,  direct,  and  understood  by 
the  whole  class. 

2.  As  a  rule  the  answer  should  be  given  in  the  pupil's 
own  language.  Proof-texts  should  be  an  exception.  They 
should  be  given  in  the  exact  words  of  Scripture. 

3.  The  answer  should  be  in  as  few  words  as  will  express 
it,  and  in  the  best  phraseology  that  the  pupil  can  command. 
Encourage  this  always. 


76  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

4.  Allow  no  guessing  as  answers. 

5.  Do  not  be  in  too  great  hurry  for  your  answer.  Give 
pupils  time  to  think  ;  especially  favor  timid  and  dull  ones. 
In  review  the  questions  may  be  put  more  rapidly. 

6.  Correct  incorrect  answers  by  helpful  questions. 

7.  Commend  occasionally  especially  good  answers,  and 
if  an  answer  gives  part  of  the  truth,  give  credit  for  that 
part,  and  say  ' '  yes,  but ' ' 

V.    Cautions  and  Hints. 

1.  Avoid  foolish  and  frivolous  questions.  I  once  knew 
a  class  to  spend  the  whole  time  of  the  lesson  discussing  the 
question,  "How  did  Nebuchadnezzar  know  that  the  fourth 
person  in  the  fiery  furnace  was  like  the  Son  of  God  ?" 

2.  Avoid  loading  down  the  question  with  big  words  and 
high-sounding  phrases. 

3.  Avoid  questions  that  can  be  answered  by  "yes"  or 
"no."  That  is  putting  the  answer  in  the  question,  e.  g., 
Was  Jesus  born  in  Bethlehem  ?  Yes.  Was  Bethlehem  in 
Judea  ?  Yes.  Was  he  born  in  a  stable  ?  Yes.  Was  he 
not  cradled  in  a  manger  ?  Yes.  There  is  no  teaching  in 
such  questions,  no  matter  how  many  may  be  asked. 

4.  Avoid  routine  questioning  or  questioning  "up  and 
down"  the  class.  Only  the  one  whose  "turn"  it  is  to 
answer  will  give  attention.  Put  the  question  to  the  whole 
class,  then  call  upon  some  one  to  answer. 

5.  Avoid  confining  your  questions  to  the  bright  and  bold 
members  of  the  class.  Give  the  timid  and  dull  ones  a 
chance. 

6.  Avoid  puzzling  questions  to  make  it  appear  that  you 
are  very  smart. 

7.  Grade  your  questions  in  words,  thoughts,  and  spiritual 
application. 

8.  Put  questions  before  explanations. 


QUESTIONING 


77 


9.    Go   after   something  in   every  question,    and   do   not 
come  away  until  you  get  it. 

10.  Rub  in  the  truth  thoroughly  with  questions.  Some 
one  has  said,  "Grease  the  class  with  new  truth,  then  while 
they  shine  with  intelligence  and  are  warm  with  interest,  rub 
it  in  with  questions." 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 


? 


Def.  :  Inc.  Stat.,  Corksc,  Shuttle,  Pickaxe,  Probe 


I. 

Value 


1.  Awakens  Attention 

2.  Tests  Preparation 

3.  Develops  Thoughts 

4.  Tests  Teacher's  Work 

5.  Arouses  Conscience 

6.  Corrects  Mistakes 


II. 

Preparation 


By  Children 
Practice  with  Others 
By  Writing  on  Lessons 
By  Those  in  Helps 


III. 

Characteristics 
of  Good 


1.  Originality 

2.  Clearness 

3.  Simplicity 

4.  Variety 

5.  Suggestiveness 

6.  Practicalness 


IV. 
Answers 


1.  Clear,  Direct,  For  All 

2.  In  Pupil's  Own  Language 

3.  Few  Words,  Best  Phrase 

4.  No  Guessing 

5.  Don't  Hurry 

6.  Correct  by  Questions 

7.  Commend  Good  Ones 


78 


HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 


V. 

Cautions 


Foolish  Questions 
Big  \Yords 
Avoid    -!   ^*   P^^^^"g  Answer  in  Question 
Routine  Questions 
Partial  Distributing 
[_  6.   Puzzling  Questions 

7.  Grade  Questions 

8.  Put  Question  Before  Explanation 

9.  Get  Something 
10.   Rub  in  Truth 


XI. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

I  have  seen  dwelling-houses  without  windows,  but  they 
were  built  in  Indian  times,  when  it  was  better  not  to  have 
such  openings  than  to  have  the  Indians  in  the  house.  But 
that  day  has  passed.  A  lesson  without  illustrations  is  like 
a  house  without  windows.  Illustrating  means  to  let  in  the 
light.  After  the  teacher  has  thoroughly  mastered  the  les- 
son in  his  own  mind,  the  next  step  in  preparation  is,  "How 
can  I  make  this  truth  clear  to  my  pupils'  mind?"  By 
letting  the  light  in  through  appropriate  illustrations. 

/    The  Value  of  Illustrations. 

1.  They  appeal  to  the  two  senses  most  used  in  conducting 
impressions  to  the  brain,  sight  and  hearing.  The  first 
thing  a  young  child  notices  is  a  bright  light.  It  soon 
learns  to  cry  for  it.  The  mind  is  always  craving  light  ;  let 
it  in.  Knowing  that  these  are  the  two  senses  that  he  must 
most  use,  especially  in  the  instruction  of  children,  the  good 
teacher  will  soon  learn  the  value  of  appropriate  illustra- 
tions.     From  this  fact,  it  follows  that 

2.  Illustrations  witt  and  hold  the  attention.      It  is  a  good 


ILLUSTRATIONS  79 

plan  to  begin  a  lesson  with  an  illustration.  A  material  ob- 
ject is  always  the  best  with  young  pupils  ;  for  more  ad- 
vanced, a  story  or  incident  will  answer.  Tell  of  something 
you  have  seen  or  heard  that  is  like  the  truth  you  want  to 
illustrate.  If  during  the  lesson  the  interest  lags,  use  a 
bright  illustration.  Light  wakes  up.  When  I  want  to  rise 
early  to  make  an  early  train,  I  leave  the  window  shade  up, 
and  I  am  sure  to  wake  at  daylight. 

3.  Illustrations  make  the  teaching  easy.  They  follow  a 
law  of  the  mind  that  we  learn  by  comparison.  The  propo- 
sition is  self-evident.  Light  reveals,  and  as  illustrations  let 
in  light  they  reveal  the  truth  to  the  pupil.  The  masses 
like  illustrative  preaching  because  it  is  easy  and  delightful 
to  follow.  I  once  heard  a  masterly  argumentative  discourse 
before  a  popular  audience  of  eight  thousand  people,  and 
more  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  left  before  the  close. 

4.  Illustrations  aid  the  7neinory.  When  the  mind  fails 
to  hold  the  whole  truth  of  a  lesson,  sermon,  lecture,  or 
book,  the  illustrations  hold  part  of  it  and  suggest  the  re- 
mainder ;  that  is,  if  they  are  well  chosen.  It  is  said  that 
a  preacher  may  repeat  frequently  the  same  sermon  to  the 
same  congregation  if  he  will  change  the  illustrations.  I 
knew  a  college  student  who  frequently  prepared  his  lessons 
while  taking  a  walk,  associating  the  different  points  to  be 
remembered  with  some  object  he  saw.  Then  when  he 
went  to  the  recitation  room,  he  simply  took  his  walk  over 
again. 

5.  Illustrations  impress  the  truth.  Nothing  is  so  im- 
pressive as  a  well-told  incident  or  story,  especially  if  it  is 
pathetic.  This  is  also  the  secret  of  holding  it  in  the 
memory. 

6.  Finally,  illustrations  a%uaken  the  conscience.  This  is 
the  secret  of  evangelistic  preaching.  The  great  soul-win- 
ners have  been  powerful  in  illustration.      The  picture  that 


80     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

is  so  well  drawn  as  to  reveal  the  soul  to  itself  will  be  sure 
to  reach  the  conscience  and  move  the  will.  Many  Chris- 
tians attribute  their  first  conviction  of  sin  to  a  well-put 
illustration  in  sermon  or  lesson. 

//.    Kinds  of  Illustrations. 

1.  Those  which  appeal  to  the  eye,  as  material  objects, 
pictures,   actions. 

2.  Those  which  appeal  to  the  imagination.  They  are 
word-pictures  and  stories. 

3.  Those  which  suggest  comparison,  as  similes,  meta- 
phors, and  parables. 

4.  Those  which  appeal  to  the  love  of  facts,  as  incidents, 
history,  scientific  truth,  etc. 

///   Sources  of  Illustrations. 

Their  source  is  inexhaustible.  The  teacher  has  the 
world  before  him. 

I.  The  world  of  material  objects.  Nature  is  profuse  in 
her  supply.  A  flower,  a  twig,  a  leaf,  a  spear  of  grass, 
plucked  by  the  hand  of  the  teacher  on  his  way  to  the 
school,  may  be  made  a  splendid  messenger  of  divine  truth. 
Our  Lord  drew  more  from  this  source  than  from  any  other. 
He  proceeded  from  the  natural  to  the  spiritual.  But  the 
teacher  must  learn  while  passing  through  the  material 
world  to  keep  his  eyes  open.  Let  him  get  the  facts  of  the 
lesson  well  in  mind  early  in  the  week,  then  the  remainder 
of  the  week  keep  watch  for  illustrations.  I  once  was  at- 
tending a  Sunday-school  institute  when  the  next  Sunday's 
lesson  was  on  "Jesus  and  Zaccheus,"  and  a  very  short  man 
— a  dwarf — came  into  the  room.  The  first  thing  my  mind 
said  to  me  was,  "There  is  Zaccheus."  If  the  truth  we  are 
to  teach  is  impressing  us,  the  illustrations  will  be  more 
easily  found. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  8 1 

2.  The  world  of  human  life.  There  is  no  more  fruitful 
source  than  the  manifold  affairs  of  everyday  life  in  its  social 
relations,  varied  callings  and  pursuits,  its  business,  man- 
ners, and  customs,  etc.  Here  too,  the  teacher  can  draw 
from  his  own  experience,  which  is  one  of  the  very  best 
sources  of  illustration.  The  great  preachers  excel  here. 
How  much  more  forcible  is  an  incident  from  human  life  if 
the  teacher  is  able  to  say,  "I  saw  it,"  "I  heard  it."  "I 
felt  it,"  for  then  it  is  more  real  to  the  class.  The  narration 
of  our  own  Christian  experiences  is  especially  effective.  I 
knew  a  man  who  had  been  under  deep  conviction  of  sin 
for  months  and  was  brought  into  the  light  by  hearing  a 
lady  relate  her  conversion  before  a  Baptist  church  prepara- 
tory to  membership.  There  is  no  phase  of  human  life 
that  does  not  abound  with  illustrations  of  Bible  truth. 

3.  The  wof'ld  of  literature.  History,  biography,  arts, 
sciences,  poetry,  fiction,  and  every  form  of  literary  produc- 
tion may  be  used  as  illustrations.  There  are  many  valu- 
able books  of  illustration,  from  a  small  handbook  up  to  the 
encyclopedia,  that  may  be  consulted  with  much  profit. 

Yet  we  must  not  forget  that  the  Bible  itself  affords  the 
best  illustrations  of  its  own  truth.  It  has  been  said  that 
for  every  abstract  truth  the  Bible  teaches  it  also  furnishes 
an  illustration.  The  profound  doctrine  of  election  and 
predestination  is  forcibly  illustrated  by  reference  to  the 
homely  art  of  the  potter.  A  professor  once  advised  his 
class  to  read  the  eighth  and  ninth  chapters  of  Romans,  and 
then  go  down  to  the  pottery  and  see  how  the  designer  had 
power  over  the  same  lump  "to  make  one  vessel  unto  honour 
and  another  unto  dishonour."  Where  do  we  find  better 
illustrations  than  our  Lord' s  parables  ?  The  miracles  of  the 
Bible  are  but  "acted  parables,"  and  are  very  forcible  as 
illustrations.  The  healing  of  blind  Bartimeus  is  a  most 
excellent  illustration  of  conversion. 
F 


82     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

IF.   Suggestions  in  the  Use  of  Illustrations. 

1.  Use  appropriate  illustrations.  Illustrations  must  illus- 
trate, fit  the  point.  They  should,  if  possible,  focus  the  light 
on  that  particular  point,  by  having  a  single  analogous  point 
to  the  truth  to  be  illustrated.  Then  the  mind  cannot  help 
seeing  it,  for  it  can  see  nothing  else. 

2.  Do  not  make  the  illustration  more  prominent  than  the 
truth  illustrated,  else  the  mind  will  retain  the  illustration 
and  forget  the  truth. 

3.  Do  not  use  too  many  illustrations.  Too  much  light 
dazzles  and  blinds.  The  illustrations  will  be  remembered 
while  the  truth  taught  will  be  forgotten. 

4.  Never  use  an  illustration  for  its  own  sake,  or  just  be- 
cause it  is  a  good  story  and  you  want  to  tell  it.  Teaching 
is  not  telling  stories.  I  knew  a  teacher  in  the  primary  de- 
partment of  a  city  Sunday-school  who  carried  magazines  to 
the  classroom  and  read  stories  to  the  children  ! 

5.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  homely  illustrations.  They  are 
far  better  than  the  "classic."      Jesus  used  them. 

6.  Gather  and  preserve  objects,  incidents,  etc.,  and  have 
them  ready  for  future  use.  When  you  go  to  the  seashore 
from  an  inland  country  school,  supply  yourself  w^ell  with 
new  objects  for  illustration,  especially  if  you  are  a  primary 
teacher.  Make  a  scrap-book  of  the  good  things  you  read  in 
papers, 

7.  If  possible,  begin  and  close  with  an  illustration.  An 
illustration  at  the  beginning  that  will  open  up  the  subject, 
will  at  once  awaken  attention  and  interest.  One  at  the 
close  that  gathers  the  whole  subject  up,  and  holds  it  before 
the  mind  in  its  unity,  and  impresses  it,  makes  the  whole 
subject  stick.  Christ  closed  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount  with 
the  illustration  of  the  two  builders,  one  on  the  rock  and  the 
other  on  the  sand. 


METHODS    OF    REVIEW 


83 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


I.  Value 


1.  Appeal  to  Two  Senses 

2.  Win  and  Hold  Attention 

3.  P'ollow  Law  of  Mind 

4.  Aid  the  Memory 

5.  Impress  the  Truth 

6.  Awaken  Conscience 


II.   Kinds 


1.  Appeal  to  Eye 

2.  Appeal  to  Imagination 

3.  Suggest  Comparison 

(^  4.  Appeal  to  Love  of  Facts 


III.  Sources 


1.  Material  Objects 

2.  Human  Life 

3.  Literature 


IV.  Suggestions 
as  to  Use 


1.  Appropriateness 

2.  Prominence 

3.  Number 

4.  Telling  Stories 

5.  Homely,  Classic 

6.  Gather  and  Preserve 

7.  Begin  and  Close  With 


XIL 


METHODS    OF    REVIEW. 


Probably  no  work  in  our  Sunday-schools  is  more  impor- 
tant and  more  neglected  or  poorly  done  than  stated  reviews. 
The  value  of  review  in  general  was  considered  in  the 
lesson  on  "The  Science  of  Teaching."  Here  we  shall 
consider  principally  methods,  not  of  class  review,  which 
belong  to   the   class-work,  but  of  the  review  of  the  whole 


84  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

school.     These  are  of  two  kinds  and  may  be  considered  in 
their  order. 

/.    The  Weekly  Review. 

No  session  should  ever  close  without  a  review  of  the 
lesson.  It  tests  the  teachers'  work  in  the  classes,  and 
gathers  up  the  points  in  the  lesson  as  a  whole  and  im- 
presses them  on  the  whole  school. 

1.  Who  should  conduct  it?  The  superintendent.  But 
what  if  he  can' t  ?  Then  get  a  superintendent  who  can. 
But  what  if  he  won' t  ?  Then  get  one  who  will.  He  wants 
to  know  what  his  teachers  have  done,  and  he  wants  his 
school  to  be  impressed  with  the  truth  of  the  lesson  accord- 
ing to  their  spiritual  needs,  which  he  knows  or  should  know 
better  than  any  one  else.  It  is  his  only  opportunity  to 
teach  the  whole  school.  He  may  teach  it  indirectly 
through  the  teachers'  meeting,  but  he  wants  to  come  in 
direct  contact  with  the  minds  and  hearts  of  all  in  his 
school. 

2.  What  time  should  be  given  to  it?  From  five  to 
eight  minutes  at  the  close  of  the  class-work. 

3.  What  should  be  its  character  ? 

(i)  A  summary  of  the  truth  of  the  lesson. 

(2)  A  practical  application  of  the  central  truth  of  the 
lesson. 

(3)  A  forcible  and  affectionate  expressio7i  of  the  central 
truth  of  the  lesson. 

4.  By  what  method  should  it  be  cojiducted? 
(i)  By  question  and  answer. 

(2)  By  statement  and  exhortation. 

(3)  By  illustration.  A  good  illustration  at  the  close  may 
be  made  very  effective.  The  superintendent  should  always 
have  one  ready. 

5.  Put  the  outline  on  the  blackboard  as  the  review  pro- 
ceeds. 


METHODS    OF    REVIEW  8$ 

6.  How  should  it  close  f  With  prayer  and  the  lesson 
song.  If  the  pastor  is  present,  and  in  the  ideal  church 
and  school  he  is  always  present  when  at  home,  he  should 
make  this  review  prayer.  Let  the  spirit  and  aim  of  the 
prayer  be  to  bring  God  and  the  school  together  through  the 
medium  of  his  truth. 

Then  if  the  lesson  can  be  clinched  with  an  appropriate 
song,  the  review  will  be  a  success. 

//.  The  Quarterly  Review. 
A  good /r<?-view  will  help  the  r^-view.  If  an  outline  of 
the  quarter's  lessons  could  be  given  to  the  school  such  as 
appears  in  the  "Baptist  Teacher"  or  "Sunday  School 
Times,"  putting  it  on  the  board  and  spending  a  little  time 
on  it,  it  would  help  the  review  very  much.  As  in  the 
weekly  review,  the  quarterly  review  should  be  conducted  by 
the  superintendent.     We  may  consider  : 

1.  Its  value,  (i)  It  secures  better  study.  The  very  fact 
that  there  is  to  be  a  review  at  the  close  of  the  quarter 
stimulates  it.  If  soldiers  did  not  expect  dress  parades  and 
inspection  of  arms,  they  might  not  keep  their  guns  clean 
and  uniforms  in  order.  (2)  It  tests  and  completes  the  teach- 
ing work  of  the  school.  (3)  It  exhibits  to  the  church  and 
community  what  the  school  is  doing,  and  thus  gains  their 
sympathy  and  co-operation.  (4)  It  helps  to  present  Bible 
truth  as  a  whole,  especially  if  the  review  is  topical.  (5)  It 
is  made  a  blessing  to  those  who  lake  part  in  it. 

2.  Method  of  conducting  it.  I  have  known  one  super- 
intendent who  has  made  the  quarterly  review  a  success, 
and  kept  it  up  for  twenty  years.  He  has  kept  up  an  inter- 
est in  the  quarterly  review  according  to  the  following  general 

SCHEME. 

I. 

A  drill  in  the   lesson   titles  and  Golden    Texts.      Place 


S6  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

catch-words  of  titles  and  Golden  Texts  on  the  blackboard. 
Suppose  the  title  to  be,  T/ie  Resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  the 
Golden  Text,  ' '  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life. ' '  You 
place  on  the  board,  if  it  be  the  first  lesson  in  the  quarter, 

I.    Res.  Je.   "I  am  the "  and  so  on  with  all  the  lessons 

in  order.  Drill  on  it  in  this  form.  Then  erase  catch- 
words of  Golden  Texts,  and  drill  until  all  can  repeat. 
Then  the  same  with  the  catch-words  for  the  titles — leaving 
only  the  number  of  the  lesson  on  the  board.  Then  clear 
the  board  and  repeat  all  from  memory. 

II. 

A  word  picture  review.  The  superintendent  then  gives 
one  or  more  word  pictures  on  each  lesson,  in  promiscuous 
order,  and  calls  upon  the  school  to  name  the  lesson.  Thus  : 
"I  see  a  pit;  it  is  full  of  wild  beasts,  and  I  see  a  great 
crowd  of  men  around  it,  and  there  are  soldiers  there.  See, 
they  have  a  man  bound.     What  lesson  is  it  ?" 

"Daniel  cast  into  the  lions'  den,"  will  be  the  answer  he 
will  receive. 

In  this  way  the  lessons  are  brought  again  before  the 
school  in  pleasing  pictures.  The  children  can  play  this  at 
home,  drawing  pictures  and  calling  for  the  lesson. 

III. 

Practical  lesso7ts  recited.  The  Sunday  previous  to  review 
the  superintendent  assigns  each  lesson  in  the  quarter  to 
different  members  of  the  school,  some  to  teachers  and 
some  to  scholars,  to  find,  prepare,  and  recite  from  the  les- 
son assigned  a  practical,  spiritual  lesson,  and  thus  we 
have  twelve  short  practical  sermons  preached.  Additional 
thoughts  may  be  given  by  other  members  of  the  school  ex- 
temporaneously from  the  same  lesson  or  from  the  quarter's 
lessons  as  a  whole. 


METHODS    OF    REVIEW 


87 


Suggestions  : 

1.  The  quarterly  review  should  be  previously  arranged 
for  and  well  prepared. 

2.  It  is  usually  given  in  the  time  of  the  school  session. 

3.  It  may  be  made  to  take  the  place  of  a  preaching 
service  of  the  church,  and  the  congregation  and  parents 
invited  to  attend. 

4.  The  exercises  should  be  interspersed  with  lively,  spirit- 
ual songs. 

5.  An  occasional  short,  spiritual  prayer  may  be  thrown  in 
as  the  exercises  progress. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 


REVIEWS 


Weekly 


Quarterly 


Conductor 

Time 

Character 


Method  .  . 
Blackboard 
Closing 


li 


I.  Value 


2.   Methods 


3.  Suggestions 


Summary 

Application 

Expression 

Question  and  Answer 

Statement  and  Exhortation 

Illustration 


Secures  Better  Study 
Tests  and  Completes  Teaching 
Exhibits  Work  of  School 
Presents  Bible  Truth  as  Whole 
Blesses  Participants 

SCHEME 

I. 

Drill  on  Titles  and  Golden  Texts 

II. 

Word  Pictures 


Practical  Lessons  Recited 

1.  Prepare  Well 

2.  Instead  of  Lesson 

3.  Instead  of  Preaching  Service 

4.  Songs 


5.   Prayers 


8S  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

XIII. 
CHRIST   THE   GREAT   TEACHER. 

"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  While  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher  may  be  greatly  benefited  in  the  study 
of  the  world's  masters  in  the  art  of  teaching,  nothing  will 
be  so  helpful  and  inspiring  as  a  study  of  Christ  as  the  world' s 
great  Teacher.  He  represents  himself  as  teacher  and  his 
followers  as  disciples.  His  life  record  was  one  of  doing  and 
teaching  (Acts  i  :  i).  He  is  our  model,  not  only  in  what 
he  taught,  but  in  the  spirit  and  manner  of  his  teaching. 
We  may  say  of  him,  as  the  Roman  orator  to  his  emperor  : 
"Those  who  dare  to  speak  of  you  are  ignorant  of  your 
greatness,  those  who  dare  not  are  equally  ignorant  of  your 
goodness. ' '     As  the  great  Teacher,  we  may  consider — 

/   //is  Knowledge. 
Christ  knew  what  he  taught.      His  knowledge  was  both 
intuitive  and  acquired.     As  divine,  he  knew  intuitively  ;  as 
human,   "  He  grew  in  wisdom,"  or  knowledge.     What  did 
he  know  ? 

1.  //e  knew  God.  He  said  of  himself  :  "All  things  are 
delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father  :  and  no  man  knoweth  the 
Son,  but  the  Father  ;  neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father, 
save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal 
him"  (Matt.  1 1  :  27).  He  knows  God  with  power  to  reveal 
him  to  us,  or  in  pedagogical  terms,  "to  cause  us  to  know" 
him,  and  to  experience  the  fullness  of  his  love.  "That  the 
love  wherewith  thou  hast  loved  me  may  be  in  them"  (John 
17  :  26),  he  prays  to  his  Father. 

2.  //e  knew  himself.  He  knew  that  he  was  the  Son  of 
God,  that  he  came  from  the  Father,  and  what  his  mission 
was  in  the  world,  and  that  when  that  mission  was  accom- 
plished he  would  return  to  the  Father.      He  knew  his  own 


CHRIST    THE    GREAT    TEACHER  89 

spotless  character,  and  challenged  the  world  to  convict  him 
of  sin  ;  he  knew  his  own  power  and  exercised  it  in  working 
miracles  and  forgiving  sins. 

3.  He  knew  man.  He  knew  man  better  than  man  knew 
himself.  He  knew  his  physical  limitations,  his  mental 
weakness,  his  moral  unsoundness,  his  corrupt  heart,  and 
his  greatest  spiritual  needs,  and  came  to  minister  unto 
them.  He  knew  the  motive  of  Nicodemus,  who  came  to 
him  by  night  ;  the  avarice  of  the  young  ruler,  who  wanted 
eternal  life  without  the  consecration  of  his  wealth  ;  and  the 
heart  of  the  Samaritan  woman  who  talked  to  him  at  the 
well.  The  secret  of  his  teaching  was  his  deep  insight  into 
human  nature,  a  knowledge  of  which  is  as  essential  to  the 
best  teaching  to-day  as  it  was  then.  Though  we  must  not 
expect  to  have  it  to  the  degree  of  the  divine  Teacher,  we 
may  know  more  of  it  than  we  do. 

4.  He  knew  nature.  His  life  and  teachings,  as  seen  in 
the  Gospels,  which  show  that  he  was  familiar  with  the  birds 
of  the  air,  the  trees  of  the  forest,  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the 
fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  insects  and  creeping  things  of 
earth,  as  well  as  "the  times  and  seasons."  He  used  more 
effectively  his  knowledge  of  nature  in  teaching  spiritual 
truth  than  any  others,  because  he  knew  nature  better. 

5.  He  knew  the  Bible.  He  quoted  it  in  proving  his  doc- 
trine, resisting  temptation,  and  urged  all  to  "search  the 
Scriptures,"  for  they  bore  testimony  of  him.  He  knew  the 
Old  Testament  prophecies  so  well  and  minutely  that  he  ful- 
filled them  to  the  very  letter  in  his  life,  and  made  an  ad- 
vanced revelation  upon  them  in  his  own  teaching.  Even 
at  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  astonished  the  Jewish  doctors 
with  his  questions  and  answers  concerning  the  Jewish  relig- 
ion. If  Christ  studied  and  learned  the  Bible  in  order  to 
teach  it,  how  much  more  should  we  ! 

6.  He  knew  the  people.      Not  only  did   he  know  their 


90     HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

nature  and  constitution,  as  shown  above,  but  he  knew  the 
special  people  among  whom  he  labored  and  taught.  He 
knew  their  affairs  of  government,  manners,  and  customs, 
methods  of  business,  the  history  of  their  country,  current 
events,  as  well  as  their  religious  opinions.  (See  Matt.  17  : 
24-26  ;  25  :  1-12,  14-18  ;  Mark  12  :  15-17  ;  Luke  7  : 
44-47  ;  16  :  1-8  ;   13  :  1-5  ;  John  3  :  14  ;   H  :  22.) 

//    Characteristics  of  His  Teachiiig, 

1.  Originality.  We  must  teach  what  we  learn  from 
others  ;  but  Christ  was  absolutely  original.  We  may  dis- 
cover truth,  Christ  creates  it  ;  we  may  learn  the  truth,  but 
Christ  is  the  truth.  In  this  characteristic  we  do  not  despair 
of  our  own  teaching,  but  are  greatly  encouraged.  When  we 
teach  the  truth  he  taught  we  may  know  it  is  not  tradition, 
but  absolutely  original.  This  we  should  not  try  to  imitate, 
since  the  truth  we  teach  is  not  ours,  but  his. 

2.  Authority.  "He  taught  them  as  one  having  author- 
ity, and  not  as  the  scribes."  He  made  assertions  solely 
upon  his  own  authority.  "Moses  said  unto  you,  so  and 
so,  but  /  say  unto  you,"  etc.  (See  Sermon  on  the  Mount.) 
He  left  the  impression  that  a  truth  was  so  because  he  said 
so.  This  manner  we  should  imitate  ;  make  our  pupils  feel 
that  when  the  Bible  speaks  on  any  subject,  that  is  final. 

3.  Sifnplicity.  Though  he  uttered  the  most  profound 
truth  ever  taught,  every  word  was  brought  within  compre- 
hension. Hence,  "the  common  people  heard  him  gladly." 
He  made  no  pretensions  whatever  to  science,  philosophy, 
or  oratory.  He  was  a  plain  "meek  and  lowly"  man  and 
simple  gospel  teacher  and  preacher.  He  taught  only  adults, 
so  far  as  the  record  of  his  life  shows,  yet  a  child  can  under- 
stand his  teaching.  His  thought  was  profound,  but  lan- 
guage simple.  This  is  the  highest  characteristic  of  good 
teaching — "to  cause  another  to  understand." 


CHRIST    THE    GREAT    TEACHER  9 1 

4.  Adaptability.  His  teaching  suited  his  pupils.  The 
question  he  virtually  asked  in  contemplating  his  learners, 
was  not,  what  do  /  want  especially  to  teach  them  ?  nor  what 
will  be  most  popular?  but,  What  do  they  tieed?  What  is 
best  suited  to  their  mental  capacities  and  spiritual  needs  ? 

He  adapted  his  teaching  to  the  capacity  of  his  pupils. 
Some  he  taught  by  parables,  because  they  could  learn  best 
by  that  way,  and  in  that  way  he  could  win  their  attention  ; 
others  he  taught  more  plainly,  because  they  could  under- 
stand. We  see  this  degree  of  adaptation  in  the  many  ways 
in  which  he  set  forth  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

He  also  adapted  his  teachings  to  the  spiritual  needs  of 
his  pupils.  These  needs  he  knew.  He  prescribed  accord- 
ing to  his  spiritual  diagnosis.  He  was  a  ' '  Great  Physician. 
If  we  would  study  more  the  needs  of  our  classes  as  well  as 
individual  pupils,  we  would  be  more  successful  in  our  teach- 
ing, because  we  could  better  meet  their  spiritual  needs. 

///    The  Spirit  of  Teaching. 

The  influence  and  results  of  a  teacher  depend  largely 
upon  the  spirit  that  pervades  his  work.  If  he  has  "an 
excellent  spirit"  in  him  he  will  have  power.  "Never 
man"  had  such  a  spirit  as  Christ.      His  was  : 

1.  An  unselfish  spirit.  He  sought  not  his  own  will,  but 
the  will  of  his  Father.  He  pleased  not  himself.  His  work 
was  one  of  ministering.  He  "came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many"  (Matt.  20  :  28).  His  first  recorded  words  were, 
"Know  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  busi- 
ness?" (Luke  2  :  49.)  He  was  so  deeply  and  entirely  ab- 
sorbed in  his  work  that  he  lost  sight  of  self 

2.  A  catholic  spirit.  He  was  not  prescribed  and  nar- 
row, like  the  scribes  and  Pharisees.  He  fearlessly  over- 
rode their  customs,    and    publicly  exposed    their   bigotry. 


92  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

He  broke  down  the  walls  of  sectional  and  national  prej- 
udice, and  gave  his  gospel  to  the  whole  world.  He  knew 
no  bounds  along  the  line  of  the  useful  and  right  We  want 
to  learn  from  him  to  be  broad-minded  teachers,  because 
there  is  no  measuring  the  breadth  of  divine  truth. 

3.  A  patie7it  spirit.  Although  many  disciples  "went 
back  and  walked  no  more  with  him ' '  (John  6  :  66),  and  others 
rejected  him  openly,  while  very  many  entirely  ignored  him, 
he  never  became  discouraged  nor  grew  lax  in  energy.  When 
the  authority  of  his  teachings  was  called  in  question  he  did 
not  lose  his  temper,  as  we  so  often  do,  but  patiently  rea- 
soned with  his  opponents  (Matt.   12  :  24-26). 

4.  A  prayerful  spirit.  Jesus  communed  much  with  his 
Father.  He  spent  whole  nights  in  prayer.  He  went  "from 
closet  to  desk"  as  a  teacher.  He  not  only  prayed  for  him- 
self, but  for  his  disciples,  that  they  might  be  sanctified 
through  his  teaching.      (See  John  17.) 

5.  A  lovely  spirit.  Not  only  lovely,  but  loving, — loving, 
because  he  was  "  the  fairest  among  ten  thousand,  and  the 
one  altogether  lovely."  His  teaching  was  with  power,  be- 
cause he  knew  ;  but  his  greatest  power  was  heart  power. 

IV.    His  Method  of  Teaching. 

We  should  expect  one  who  knew  his  subject  and  his 
pupils  as  Jesus  did  to  employ  the  best  methods  of  teaching. 
His  method  might  be  described  in  one  word,  natural  He 
taught  according  to  the  nature  of  his  subject  and  the  nature 
of  the  human  mind.  There  is  always  variety  as  well  as 
unity  in  nature.      His  method  was  : 

I.  Interrogative.  He  asked  and  answered  questions. 
"He  started  the  questioning  spirit."  He  was  a  master  in 
the  art  of  questions.  He  encouraged  his  pupils  to  ask  ques- 
tions. He  knew  when  and  how  to  answer.  His  teaching 
of  individuals   and  groups  of  persons  was  much  like   the 


CHRIST    THE    GREAT   TEACHER  93 

class-work  in  our  modern  Sunday-school.  The  interroga- 
tive method  can  never  be  dispensed  with  without  changing 
the  constitution  of  the  human  mind.  Christ  knew  this  and 
employed  it,  which  fact  becomes  to  us  a  perpetual  example. 

2.  Illustrative.  He  was  a  master  in  illustration.  Should 
we  say  he  excelled  more  in  one  thing  than  another  we 
should  instance  illustration.  We  cannot  too  thoroughly 
study  his  method.  He  used  nature,  the  manners,  customs, 
and  character  of  the  people  ;  all  kinds  of  human  industry, 
history  and  government,  signs  and  symbols.  Take  the  fol- 
lowing partial  list  and  see  how  readily  you  can  recall  the 
truth  illustrated  :  Birds,  bottles,  candlestick,  corn,  child, 
cloth,  dog,  eagle,  eye,  fishes,  foxes,  figs,  fields,  grapes,  gate, 
hill,  holes,  journey,  light,  lightning,  lily,  leaven,  market, 
night,  platter,  reed,  sower,  seed,  soil,  sparrow,  serpent,  stars, 
sheep,  vine,  viper,  yoke,  wind,  wedding,  etc. 

3.  Demojistrative.  He  reasoned  out  his  conclusions  and 
then  he  demonstrated  the  truth  before  the  eyes  of  his  dis- 
ciples. Jesus  as  a  divine  teacher  had  a  mission  to  perform, 
a  message  of  truth  to  deliver  ;  it  was  a  divine  message,  and 
the  world  required  superhuman  proof.  He  demonstrated 
his  teaching  before  men's  eyes  by  miracles.  It  was  this 
demonstration  of  the  truth  that  convinced  Nicodemus.  In 
this  three-fold  method  we  see  the  wisdom  of  the  great 
Teacher.  Some  accept  the  truth  in  answer  to  a  few  ques- 
tions ;  others,  when  it  is  made  clear  by  illustration  ;  but 
there  are  still  others  for  whom  it  must  be  demonstrated. 
The  beloved  disciple  readily  accepted  the  truth  of  the  res- 
urrection when  hearing  it  ;  Peter  was  more  fully  convinced 
when  it  was  illustrated  on  the  shore  of  the  sea  of  Tiberias  ; 
but  Thomas  would  demonstrate  it  by  putting  his  fingers  in 
the  nail  holes  of  our  Lord's  body. 

But,  above  all.  behind  the  teaching  of  Christ  was  A  holy 
LIFE.      He  was  and  did  what  he  taught.     This  was  the 


94 


HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 


secret  of  his  power,  Sunday-school  teacher,  this  will  be 
the  secret  of  your  power  and  influence.  Be  and  do,  "as 
far  as  lieth  in  you,"  what  you  teach. 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

CHRIST,    THE    GREAT    TEACHER 
His  He  knew 


I.  Knowledge 


God 

Himself 

Man 

Nature 

Bible 

People 


{I,  Originality 

3!  SimplTdty 

4.  Adaptability 

r  I.  Unselfish 

I    2.  Catholic 

HI.  Spirit  -j    3.  Patient 

4,  Prayerful 

[  5.  Lovely 


IV.  Method  in  Teaching 


Behind 


r  I.  Ir 

ing  ]   2.  II 


Interrogative 
Illustrative 
emonstrative 


A  Holy  Life 


XIV. 

THE    HOLY   SPIRIT   AS   A   TEACHER. 

Jesus  could  not  remain  with  his  disciples  on  earth  as 
a  teacher,  but  "must  needs  suffer  and  enter  into  his 
glory,"  and  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  where  he  now  sits, 
receive  his  conferred  title  of  Lord.  But  before  he  went 
away  he  promised  to  send  another  Teacher,  Guide,  and  Com- 


THE    HOLY    SPIRIT    AS    A    TEACHER  95 

forter.  This  promise  is  fulfilled  in  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  Avho  came  in  specially  manifested  power  and  in  pe- 
culiar fullness  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  has  been  in  the 
world  since,  administering  the  affairs  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
His  general  work  is  the  application  of  redemption.  In- 
cluded in  that  is  his  work  as  teacher. 

1.  As  teacher  the  Holy  Spirit  makes  no  new  revelation. 
Redemption  in  its  facts  and  doctrines,  is  already  revealed 
in  the  Bible.  No  new  revelations  will  be  made  until  Christ 
shall  return.  But  the  Spirit  recognizes  the  revelation  al- 
ready made.     The  Bible  is  his  text-book  just  as  it  is  ours. 

2.  As  teacher  the  Holy  Spirit  illumines  our  minds  to 
understatid  the  revelation  already  made.  Bible  truth  is 
"spiritually  discerned,"  and  only  the  spiritually  minded 
can  discern  it.  Hence  we  need  to  be  "filled  with  the 
Spirit."  In  performing  this  office  he  acts  upon  the  several 
faculties  of  the  soul.      They  are  weakened  by  sin. 

(i)  He  quickens  the  perceptions.  Jesus  said  to  Nicode- 
mus,  "Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  The  word  "see"  here  is  not  used  lit- 
erally, "for  the  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  observa- 
tion," but  in  the  sense  of  perception.  The  Holy  Spirit  not 
only  gives  new  hearts  but  new  eyes. 

(2)  He  aids  the  memory.  "He  shall  bring  all  things  to 
your  remembrance  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you." 
This  promise  was  made  before  his  crucifixion.  Its  fulfill- 
ment is  the  written  life  and  words  of  our  Lord,  as  well  as 
other  Scriptures.  There  were  not  in  the  days  of  the  apostles 
the  facilities  we  now  have  for  recording  oral  addresses,  and 
the  legitimate  explanation  of  these  detailed  records  is  that 
we  have  them  by  the  aid  of  this  divine  Teacher. 

(3)  He  purifies  the  imagination.  The  human  heart  is 
very  frequendy  represented  in  the  Bible  as  possessing  an 
evil  imagination:     "Every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of 


96  HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

his  heart  was  only  evil  continually "  (Gen.  6  :  5),  and  that 
men  walk  "after  the  imagination  of  their  evil  heart"  (Jer. 
7  :  24).  We  are  exhorted  not  "to  imagine  evil  in  our  hearts 
against  our  neighbor"  (Zech.  8:17).  When  the  Spirit  re- 
generates the  soul  the  imagination  is  cleansed.  A  foul  im- 
agination has  led  to  many  an  open  sin. 

(4)  He  corrects  the  judgment.  Through  the  Prophet 
Isaiah  (11  :  2),  we  are  promised  "the  spirit  of  wisdom  and 
understanding."  The  judgment  is  corrected  by  having  the 
understanding  enlightened.  This  is  the  real  office  of  the 
teacher,  "to  cause  to  understand."  The  Spirit  will  help  the 
human  teacher  to  cause  his  pupils  to  understand  spiritual 
truth,  for  that  is  a  part  of  his  mission.      Rely  upon  him. 

(5)  He  emancipates  the  will.  This  is  the  last  power  of 
the  soul  reached  in  teaching.  When  we  can  reach  the  will 
of  our  pupils  then  we  can  lead  them  to  Christ  and  all 
Christian  duty.  We  must  pray  for  and  rely  upon  the  Spirit 
to  help  us.  He  not  only  emancipates  the  will,  but  sets  it 
upon  proper  objects.  In  this  way  the  Spirit  helps  us  to  lead 
our  pupils,  not  only  to  Christ  and  duty,  but  to  complete 
consecration,  which  is  an  act  of  the  will. 

3,  As  teacher  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  best  interpreter  of 
the  word  of  God  to  us.  Jesus  said:  "He  shall  receive  of 
mine  and  shall  shew  it  unto  you"  (John  16  :  13-15). 
"The  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of 
God"  (i  Cor.  2  :  10).  Not  only  does  he  illuminate  our 
minds,  but  also  the  sacred  page.  It  is  a  recognized  prin- 
ciple, that  the  author  of  a  book  is  its  best  interpreter.  If 
you  receive  a  letter  from  a  friend  you  do  not  understand, 
you  go  to  him  for  explanation.  The  Holy  Spirit  indited 
the  Scriptures,  and  hence  he  is  their  best  interpreter.  "He 
will  guide  you  into  all  truth"  (John  16  :  13). 

4.  As  teacher  the  Holy  Spirit  is  our  best  guide.  The 
good   teacher  not   only  instructs  his   pupils    mentally,  but 


THE    HOLY    SPIRIT    AS    A    TEACHER  97 

seeks  to  guide  them  into  the  right  pathways  of  life.  Many 
are  the  promises  in  the  Bible  that  God  will  guide  his  peo- 
ple: "My  father,  thou  art  the  guide  of  my  youth,"  "The 
meek  will  he  guide  in  judgment,"  "I  will  guide  thee  with 
mine  eye,"  "The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually,"  he 
will  "guide  our  feet  in  the  way  of  peace." 

5.  The  Holy  Spirit  as  teacher  illustrates  the  truth  in  oicr 
hearts.  Through  his  agency  "the  outer  revelation  becomes 
the  inner"  and  we  not  only  know  the  truth,  but  we  feel  it 
in  our  hearts.  Thus  in  Christian  experience,  the  truth  of 
the  Bible  is  tested  and  proven  in  the  heart.  In  this  way 
the  Spirit  is  also  the  best  interpreter  of  Providence  by  en- 
abling us  to  apply  the  Scripture  promises  to  the  present 
condition  of  our  experiences.  We  may  be  in  deep  sorrow, 
under  some  trial  or  affliction,  and  the  Spirit  takes  that,  to 
me  one  of  the  most  comforting  promises  (Rom.  8  :  28), 
"All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God," 
and  applies  it  with  precious  comfort.  Speaking  of  the 
Psalms,  a  great  exegete  said:  "No  man  can  understand 
them  who  has  not  had  his  heart  broken  by  some  great  sor- 
row. ' ' 


BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

THE    HOLY    SPIRIT    AS    A    TEACHER 

I.   Makes  no  New  Revelation 

r  I.  The  Perceptions 
II.  Gives  Understanding  of      2.  The  Memory 

Present  Revelation  by  \    3.   The  Imagination 
Illumining  4.  The  Judgment 

[  5.  The  Will 

III,  The  Best  Interpreter  of  the  Scriptures 

IV.  The  Best  Guide 

V.   Illustrates  the  Truth  in  Our  Hearts 
G 


PART  II 
WHOM  WE  TEACH 

OR 

A  STUDY  OF  THE  SCHOLAR 


I. 

CHILDHOOD. 


It  is  not  enough  that  the  teacher  in  any  kind  of  school 
should  know  what  he  is  to  teach  and  how  he  is  to  teach  ; 
but  if  he  wants  to  be  a  successful  teacher  he  must  know 
whom  he  is  to  teach — not  simply  the  faces  and  names  of 
his  pupils,  but  their  natures  and  powers.  This  branch  of 
the  Sunday-school  teacher's  preparation  is  too  often 
neglected.  Not  only  is  the  course  of  study  graded,  but 
the  pupil  is  graded.  The  two  should  fit.  The  teacher  can- 
not fit  them  unless  he  knows  both.  A  helpful  way  in  which 
to  study  the  pupil  is  to  consider  the  periods  of  his  develop- 
ment separately,  then  combine  them. 

The  age  of  man  may  be  divided  into  six  periods  : 

1.  hifancy,  from  birth  to  three  years  of  age. 

2.  Childhood,  from  three  to  seven  years  of  age. 

3.  Boyhood  a7id  girlhood,  from  seven  to  fourteen  years 
of  age. 

4.  Youthhood,  from  fourteen  to  twenty  years  of  age. 

5.  Maiihood,  from  twenty  to  sixty  years  of  age. 

6.  Old  age,  from  sixty  to  death. 
98 


CHILDHOOD  99 

The  study  of  the  first  period  is  more  appropriate  to  the 
nursery  than  the  Sunday-school,  and  we  begin  our  study 
with  the  second  period,  somewhat  including  the  first. 

Childhood  is  the  most  important  period  in  human  life. 
It  requires  more  care,  because  of  its  delicate  physical  con- 
dition. The  death  rate  in  this  period  is  greater  than  that 
of  any  other  period  of  the  same  length.  It  is  the  period 
of  most  rapid  physical  development. 

It  may  be  well  to  note  here  : 

/    Some  Physical  Facts. 

1.  As  to  height.  The  average  height  of  a  male  child  at 
birth  is  nineteen  and  five-tenths  inches  ;  of  the  female, 
nineteen  and  three-tenths  inches.  At  the  age  of  seven  the 
male  has  multiplied  his  height  two  and  one-third  times 
and  the  female  two  and  three  tenths  times. 

2.  As  to  weight.  The  average  weight  of  the  male  at 
birth  is  seven  and  one-tenth  pounds  ;  that  of  the  female, 
six  and  nine-tenths  pounds.  At  seven  the  male  has  multi- 
plied his  weight  six  and  nine-tenths  times  and  the  female 
six  and  nine-tenths  times. 

3.  As  to  the  brain.  Without  distinction  of  sex,  the 
average  weight  of  the  brain  at  birth  is  thirteen  and  one- 
half  ounces.  At  seven  years  it  has  multiplied  three  and 
one-half  times. 

//    Heredity. 

The  child  brings  into  this  world  what  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  it  by  its  parents  or  ancestors,  immediate  or  re- 
mote. It  will  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  teacher  to  know 
something  of  the  hereditary  tendencies  of  his  pupils. 
These  tendencies  are  : 

I.  Physical.  They  enter  into  the  organic  structure  of 
the  body.  There  is  seen  in  every  family  more  or  less  of  the 
family  type  in  general,  in  feature,  form,  and  action  ;  certain 


lOO    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

peculiarities  of  sight,  left-handedness,  etc. ,  are  seen  through 
several  generations.      So  also  with  disease. 

2.  Mental.  The  question  is  often  raised  as  to  whether 
talent  is  inherited  from  mother  or  father.  The  mental 
tendencies  usually  descend  from  both  parents  in  different 
proportions  ;  sometimes  they  "are  divided  among  the  off- 
spring, one  child  inheriting  one  quality  and  another  a  dif- 
ferent one  from  either  or  both  parents." 

3.  Moral.  Virtues  and  vices  are  both  transmitted.  It  is 
easy  to  train  and  use  the  transmitted  virtuous  tendencies. 
"Evil  hereditar)^  tendencies,"  says  S.  Meredith,  "  if  dealt 
with  in  early  youth,  can  be  successfully  controlled."  Nu- 
merous observations  of  children  taken  in  infancy  from  the 
most  abandoned  mothers,  and  trained  without  knowledge  of 
their  parents,  he  says,  assure  him  "that  the  whole  ten- 
dency of  organization  can  be  conquered."  The  practical 
use  of  some  knowledge  of  heredity  upon  the  part  of  the 
teacher  is  to  make  use  of  these  tendencies  in  his  teaching, 
encouraging  and  developing  the  good  and  seeking  to  con- 
quer the  bad.  Yet  he  must  remember  that  he  cannot  suc- 
ceed thoroughly  without  the  grace  of  God  in  the  pupil's 
heart  and  that  some  natures  seem  to  require  more  grace 
than  others.  Doctor  Mason  used  to  say  :  "The  grace  that 
would  make  John  a  saint  would  hardly  keep  Peter  from 
knocking  a  man  down." 

///    The  Natural  Senses. 

While,  as  has  been  said,  we  should  begin  to  study  a 
man  one  hundred  years  before  he  was  born,  yet  we  prac- 
tically begin  at  birth.  We  can  only  teach  a  child,  or  adult 
either,  by  using  the  powers  he  possesses.  As  the  senses 
are  first  developed,  we  must  begin  with  these. 

1.  Those  active  at  birth,  as  touch,  taste,  and  smell. 

2.  Those  which  are  exercised  afterward — seeing  and  hear- 


CHILDHOOD  lOI 

ing.  The  first  thing  a  child  notices  is  a  bright  Hght,  after- 
ward it  will  recognize  objects.  At  three  months  old  it  will 
recognize  its  parents.  Hearing  is  gradually  exercised  as 
the  air  passages  are  cleared  by  breathing  and  swallowing. 

3.  These  senses  or  avenues  to  the  soul  are  called  into 
activity  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  outside  world.  Hence, 
the  teacher  of  a  child  must  use  them,  for  they  are  all  the 
powers  the  child  possesses  in  a  sufficient  state  of  activity 
that  he  can  use.  The  main  senses  to  be  used  in  teaching 
are  the  eyes  and  ears,  especially  the  eyes.  It  is  said  that 
eighty  times  as  many  impressions  are  received  through  the 
eye  as  through  any  one  of  the  other  senses,  and  twelve  times 
as  many  as  through  all  the  others.  If  this  is  true,  how 
important  that  the  eyes  of  the  child  should  be  used. 

IV.   Ifistmcts. 

The  child  from  birth  to  seven  years  is  a  mass  of  instincts, 
governed  by  impulse  rather  than  reason.  These  instincts 
must  be  recognized,  understood,  and  used  in  teaching,  espe- 
cially at  this  age.      The  most  important  are  : 

1.  Hunger.  It  has  been  said  that  "the  child's  first  idea 
of  the  world  is  that  it  is  something  to  eat."  It  is  evident 
that  if  it  could  get  possession  of  "the  whole  world"  in  its 
little  fist  it  would  put  it  directly  into  its  mouth.  The  pic- 
nic is  a  great  event  in  the  Sunday-school  life  of  the  child. 

2.  Activity.  The  child  kicks  and  claws  without  method 
or  aim  at  first  ;  but  how  soon  those  restless  limbs  are  di- 
rected in  play.  This  activity  is  the  result  of  the  restless 
soul  struggling  for  a  wider  sphere  of  life.  It  will  find  it. 
Use  this  activity  to  help  it  find  the  right  sphere  of  life. 

3.  Fear.  The  small  child  is  afraid  of  strange  objects 
and  faces.  We  always  tell  it  that  sin  is  ugly.  Never 
frighten  a  child,  or  tell  it  frightful  stories,  or  punish  it  by 
imprisonment  in  dark  closets.      It  is  cruel  and  dangerous. 


I02    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

4.  Anger  soon  shows  itself  in  kicking,  screaming,  and 
fighting.  It  is  easy  to  distinguish  between  the  cry  of  anger 
and  the  cry  of  pain.  Anger  needs  no  cultivation,  nor 
should  it  have  any  provocation. 

3.  Imitation.  This  instinct  is  soon  seen  in  the  child. 
How  soon  the  little  one  will  imitate  you  in  "  making  faces." 
It  is  a  great  power  in  teaching.     Seize  it  and  use  it. 

6.  Curiosity.  This  trait  shows  itself  in  the  tendency  to 
ask  questions.  It  shows  that  the  mind  is  being  wakened 
to  k?iow.  Encourage  the  child  to  ask  questions  by  answer- 
ing its  questions,  if  you  can. 

7.  Affection.  Very  early  the  child  begins  to  love.  This  is 
the  strongest  impulse  of  the  soul.  Cultivate  it.  From  love 
of  parents  it  goes  next  and  naturally  to  love  of  teacher, 
then  to  the  one  the  teacher  talks  most  about  and  most 
loves,  Jesus.  We  may  say  of  this  instinct  in  comparison 
with  all  the  others,  as  Paul  said  in  his  comparison  of  the 
Christian  graces,  "The  greatest  of  these  is  love."  These 
instincts  lie  along  two  lines  of  the  child' s  nature,  the  emo- 
tional and  intellectual.      Use  them  to  develop  both. 

V.    The  Religious  Nature  of  Childhood. 

What  we  find  in  more  mature  manhood  must  be  in  an 
undeveloped  state  in  childhood,  and  since  in  all  ages  and 
conditions  and  among  all  nations  man  is  found  worshiping 
some  superior  being,  we  conclude  that  he  has  a  religious 
nature.  This  religious  nature  is  present  in  childhood. 
With  respect  to  it  four  theories  have  been  held  : 

1.  That  the  child  is  wholly  bad.  This  view  doubtless 
grew  out  of  an  extreme  view  of  the  doctrine  of  human  de- 
pravity. It  ignored  the  fact  of  human  affection  and  a  sense 
of  justice.  Then  the  sentimentalists  swung  off  to  the  op- 
posite extreme  and  advocated  the  view, 

2.  That  the  child  is  wholly  good.     This,  pushed  to  its 


CHILDHOOD  103 

logical  consequences,  would  destroy  human  accountability, 
at  least  for  race  sin. 

3.  Then  Locke,  as  if  to  avoid  these  extremes,  taught  that 
the  child  is  neither  good  nor  bad  ;  that  the  mind  is  like 
a  blank  sheet,  upon  which  may  be  written  either  good  or 
bad  matter.  But  this  theory  seems  not  to  agree  with  human 
nature.  We  develop  what  is  in  the  mind.  If  there  is 
neither  good  nor  bad  in  it,  we  can  get  neither  out. 

4.  The  fourth  theory  is  that  the  child  is  both  good  and 
bad.  Using  the  terms  good  and  bad  in  a  relative  sense, 
this  seems  to  be  the  true  theory,  for  we  have  seen  that  the 
child  inherits  both  good  and  bad  traits. 

VI.   How  to  Teach  Childhood. 

1.  The  teacher  must  study  it  in  its  diversified  nature, 
as  physical,  mental,  moral,  religious.  To  teach  a  child  we 
must  know  the  child.  To  know  childhood  we  must  be 
children  again  ourselves.  Go  back  to  our  child  ideas  and 
modes  of  thought,  adding  to  them  our  present  knowledge 
and  experience.  Study  children.  Get  down  into  their 
world  and  live  with  them. 

2.  Attempt  to  use  only,  on  the  pupil' s  side  of  teaching, 
the  child' s  powers.  That  is,  the  powers  in  it  that  are  de- 
veloped and  active.  Overtaxing  the  child's  mental  powers 
is  as  much  a  defect  in  mental  exercise  as  overtaxing  its  phys- 
ical powers  in  physical  exercise. 

3.  Use  the  child' s  moral  and  religious  nature,  his  sense 
of  right  and  wrong.  Make  much  use  of  the  conscience. 
You  will  be  surprised  to  find  how  acute  is  the  child' s  moral 
sense,  far  more  so,  often,  than  that  of  an  adult,  for  it  has  not 
been  blunted  by  sin.  The  first  lesson  to  teach  a  child  in 
religion  is  that  it  is  sinful  and  needs  a  Saviour.  Make 
much  use  of  the  cross.  I  shall  never  forget  my  first  im- 
pressions of  the  crucifixion. 


104        HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

CHILDHOOD 

,  ,     J     ,.        r  I.   Importance  of  Studying  Pupil 
Introduction  |  ^_  Division  of  Life  into  plriods 


As  to  Height 
I.  Some  Physical  Facts  -|  2.  As  to  "Weight 
As  to  Brain 


(1.  Tl 

\  2.  Tl 
Is-  H 


Physical 
II.   Heredity  ■{  2.   Mental 
3.   Moral 


Those  active  at  Birth 
III.  The  Senses  \  2.  Those  Called  Out  Afterward 
[ow  exercised 


IV.  Instincts 


1.  Hunger 

2.  Activity 

3.  Fear 

4.  Anger 

5.  Imitation 

6.  Curiosity 

7.  Affection 


h. 


THEORIES 
Wholly  Bad 
Religious  Nature  -j  2.  Wholly  Good 

Neither  Good  nor  Bad 
Both  Good  and  Bad 


I.  Study  It 
VI.  To  Teach  ^  2.  Use  Its  Powers 

3.  Use  Moral  and  Religious  Nature 


II. 

BOYHOOD   AND    GIRLHOOD. 

This  period  is  regarded  as  between  the  ages  of  seven  and 
fourteen.  It  is  the  period  of  the  child' s  life  in  which  the 
Sunday-school  teacher  can  have  most  influence  and  during 


BOYHOOD    AND    GIRLHOOD  IO5 

which  he  can  do  the  best  work.  Yet  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  it  is  the  same  child,  with  precisely  the  same 
powers,  passing  through  another  stage  of  development,  and 
that  this  development  is  molded  largely  by  contact  with  the 
teacher  and  outside  world. 

/    Physical  Development. 

1.  Physical  growth  is  now  less  rapid.  In  the  first  period 
the  male  increases  in  height  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  per 
cent.,  and  in  weight  six  hundred  per  cent. ;  the  female  in 
height,  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  per  cent,  and  in  weight 
five  hundred  and  eighty-eight  per  cent  In  this  period  the 
boy  increases  in  height  thirty-one  per  cent,  and  in  weight 
eighty-four  per  cent,  and  the  girl  in  height  thirty-four  per 
cent,  and  in  weight  one  hundred  and  four  per  cent 

2.  It  is  readily  seen  from  these  statistics  that  the  girl 
grows  more  rapidly  than  the  boy,  while  in  the  first  period 
the  boy  grows  the  more  rapidly.  The  boy  grows  most  in  his 
fourteenth  year,  the  girl  in  her  twelfth  year,  and  hence  is 
more  precocious.  It  is  said  that  from  ten  to  fifteen  the 
girl' s  heart  grows  more  than  twice  as  fast  as  the  boy' s,  and 
the  boy's  lungs  more  than  twice  as  fast  as  the  girl's. 

3.  The  girl  and  boy  are  less  subject  to  disease  either  of 
mind  or  body  than  the  child.  While  in  the  first  seven 
years  of  life  the  death  rate  is  the  greatest,  in  the  next  seven 
years  it  is  less  than  in  any  other  equal  period.  This  is  the 
rugged  period  of  life  and  the  time  to  lay  the  foundation  for 
a  good  body.  Hence  much  attention  should  be  given  to 
physical  culture  during  this  period.  This  is  the  work  of 
parents  and  weekday  school  teachers.  All  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher  can  do  is  to  encourage  this  development 

4.  This  is  pre-eminently  the  training  period.  During 
this  period  the  boy  and  girl  get  possession  of  themselves. 
The  boy  learns  the  use  of  tools  in  the  man's  sphere  of  life 


I06         HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

and  the  girl  in  the  woman's.  Here  is  the  value  of  indus- 
trial schools.  In  this  period  the  use  of  musical  instru- 
ments is  best  learned.  A  sad  neglect  in  this  period  is  the 
development  and  training  of  the  organs  of  speech.  But  few 
people  can  talk  as  they  should.  In  our  present  methods  of 
church  work  all  are  expected  to  speak  more  or  less  in  pub- 
lic, but  only  a  few  can  be  heard,  simply  because  they  do 
not  have  full  possession  of  their  powers. 

//    Mental  Development. 

The  period  of  childhood  is  the  period  of  instinct,  but 
with  the  boy  and  girl  it  is  more  the  period  of  intelli- 
gence. "The  psychology  of  this  period  centers  in  the 
growth  of  intelligence."  It  has  been  truly  said  that  "  most 
people  get  their  education  in  this  period  in  many  schools." 

We  can  notice  here  only  some  of  the  fundamental  char- 
acteristics of  the  boy  and  girl  mind  to  be  used. 

1.  Curiosity.  Here  the  mental  activity  of  life  begins. 
Curiosity  is  fundamental  to  interest  and  attention.  The 
teacher  will  have  no  difficulty  in  winning  and  holding  the 
attention  of  boys  and  girls  if  he  only  uses  their  curiosity. 
"  They  lay  their  whole  environment  under  tribute  to  this 
instinct."  Boys  and  girls  want  to  know  about  everything 
and  everybody.  How  constantly  do  they  inquire  into  the 
affairs  of  their  parents  or  older  brothers  and  sisters.  This 
is  a  God-given  power  ;  seize  it  and  use  it  wisely.  Encour- 
age them  in  the  persistent  disposition  to  ask  questions.  It 
is  the  interrogative  period  of  life. 

2.  Imitation.  This  is  also  fundamental.  It  is  present  in 
childhood,  and  remains  to  an  extent  throughout  life,  but  it 
"comes  to  full  fruition"  in  boyhood  and  girlhood.  The 
simple  acts  of  childhood  in  imitation  become  more  elabo- 
rate in  the  boy  and  girl,  and  as  they  advance  toward  ma- 
turity, more  and  more  approach  the  real  in  life.     The  stick 


BOYHOOD    AND    GIRI.HOOD  IO7 

used  for  a  horse,  gives  place  to  the  dog  or  goat.  The  doll 
now  must  have  a  house,  with  parlor,  chamber,  and  kitchen 
complete. 

The  teacher  in  the  intermediate  grade  must  study  this 
period,  and  adapt  the  instruction  accordingly. 

3.  Playfulness.  As  in  imitation,  this  instinct  changes  in 
the  boy  and  girl  to  a  higher  sphere  of  development.  The 
child,  from  four  to  seven  years,  is  content  with  physical 
plays  alone,  but  the  boy  and  girl  must  have  mental  plays. 
It  is  the  period  of  puzzles,  riddles,  enigmas,  and  conun- 
drums. These  are  mental  plays.  If  the  teacher  can  put 
the  truth  to  be  taught  in  this  form,  he  will  find  no  difficulty 
in  getting  boys  and  girls  to  work  at  it.  I  have  known  a 
group  of  boys  and  girls  to  spend  hours  over  the  game  of 
Bible  characters,  whom  you  could  not  induce  to  sit  down 
and  read  the  Bible  ten  minutes. 

4.  Imagination.  During  this  period  the  imagination  is 
very  active.  It  is  the  wonder  period  and  picture-making 
period.  Use  pictures  and  stories,  but  be  careful  that  they 
tell  the  truth.  Two  boys,  who  had  never  seen  the  ocean  or 
a  ship,  had  a  strong  desire  to  be  sailors,  and  did  become 
sailors.  This  desire  was  produced  by  the  picture  of  a  ship 
at  sea  that  hung  in  their  parlor  at  home  all  through  their 
boyhood.  Put  the  right  pictures  before  the  boys  and  girls, 
and  it  will  help  to  make  the  right  men  and  women  of  them. 
The  imagination  of  our  boys  and  girls  needs  to  be  well 
guarded,  and  we  see  the  need  of  right  teaching  and  preach- 
ing here. 

5.  Memory.  This  is  emphatically  the  memory  period 
of  life.  What  is  learned  in  this  period  is  better  retained. 
Boys  and  girls  can  learn  language  easier  than  adults,  be- 
cause so  much  of  it  is  memory  work.  It  is  the  time  to 
store  the  mind  with  useful  facts.  We  would  enumerate 
here,  and  say,  store  the  mind  of  the  boy  and  girl — 


I08    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

(i)  With  facts  of  language. 

(2)  With  facts  of  history. 

(3)  With  facts  of  science. 

(4)  With  facts  of  morals. 

(5)  With  facts  of  the  Bible. 

6.  Reason.  Reason  grows  rapidly  in  this  period,  more 
rapidly  than  we  are  wont  to  think.  Some  of  our  best  edu- 
cators say  that  the  boy  and  girl  make  their  greatest  mathe- 
matical improvement  in  their  twelfth  and  thirteenth  year. 
Go  into  any  good  grammar  grade  in  the  public  school  and 
see  it  verified.  At  thirteen  the  boy  and  girl  begin  to  be 
critical.  Here  doubt  begins  to  arise,  and  the  mind  wants 
to  know  the  '"whys  and  wherefores."  This  doubt  may  be 
made  the  basis  of  wholesome  progress.  The  teacher  must 
be  able  to  explain  and  show  why  certain  things  are  so. 

7.  Faith.  This  is  the  period  of  faith  as  is  that  of  child- 
hood. As  a  girl  and  boy  begin  to  pass  into  their  teens, 
they  are  subject  to  doubt,  before  this  they  take  things 
for  granted  or  believe  what  is  told  them  by  parent  and 
teacher,  because  they  have  confidence  in  them.  As  a  rule, 
in  this  and  childhood's  period,  our  pupils  will  believe  what 
we  tell  them.  How  important,  therefore,  that  \Ve  teach 
nothing  but  the  truth.  The  responsibility  in  teaching  this 
grade  is  much  greater  than  in  teaching  adults,  for  the  adult 
who  thinks  for  himself  may  see  or  find  out  our  error,  and 
reject  it  ;  but  the  boy  and  girl  will  not  question  it.  Is 
it  not  well  to  remember  this  fact  in  teaching  boys  and 
girls  ? 

///    Moral  and  Religious  Development. 

How  can  the  teacher  use  these  instincts  and  peculiar 
traits  in  the  boy  and  girl  for  their  moral  and  spiritual  good  ? 
This  is  the  great  aim  in  teaching  in  the  Sunday-school,  and 
if  we  miss  this  aim  our  work  is  a  failure. 

I.    Use  the  vivacity  of  this  age   to  show  that  life  really 


BOYHOOD  AND  GIRLHOOD  ICQ 

consists  in  doing  right  and  pleasing  God.  Boys  and  girls 
live.  They  eat,  they  digest,  they  grow,  they  act.  They 
want  to  be  men  and  women.  Link  this  desire  for  life  with 
morals.  Show  that  bad  habits  and  sinful  lives  bring  pre- 
mature death,  linking  the  most  forcible  examples  under 
their  observation  with  it.     To  be  "big''  means  to  be  right. 

2.  Use  their  interest  in  nature  to  find  God.  What  do 
you  see  ?  Where  did  it  come  from  ?  Who  made  it  ?  What 
is  it  for  ?  Why  is  it  made  like  this  rather  than  in  some 
other  way  ?  Show  how  wonderfully  made  are  all  things 
about  them,  and  how  wonderful  they  themselves  are,  and 
that  no  one  but  a  great,  good,  and  wise  Being  could  accom- 
plish all  they  behold.  Boys  and  girls  will  be  honest  and 
believing.  There  is  a  plain  connection  to  them  between 
everything  they  see  and  God.    Find  it  and  show  it  to  them. 

3.  Boys  and  girls  are  fond  of  biography.  They  like  to 
learn  about  people.  Then  Bible  characters  will  interest 
them.  But  the  one  absorbing  person  in  the  Bible  is  Jesus. 
Select  the  proper  book  from  the  Sunday-school  library  for 
your  boys  and  girls.  Remember  that  the  boy  especially 
likes  the  heroic  in  character.  There  will  be  no  trouble  to 
get  boys  interested  in  the  exploits  of  Samson  and  David, 
Ruth  and  Naomi,  Mary  and  Martha  ;  and  the  needle 
woman,  Dorcas,  will  attract  the  admiration  of  the  girls. 
But  be  sure  to  present  Christ  as  the  hero  of  the  Bible. 

4.  Make  much  use  of  their  natural  affection.  Their 
hearts  are  tender  and  impressible.  Win  them  first  to 
yourself,  then  with  that  lead  them  to  the  One  you  love  most 
Heart  power  \s  the  great  power  in  teaching.  "  First  that 
which  is  natural,  and  afterward  that  which  is  spiritual,"  is 
a  law  in  Christ's  kingdom  ;  observe  it  From  the  natural 
affection  lead  to  the  spiritual. 

5.  Finally,  use  the  instinct  of  imitation  in  the  power  of 
example.     The  teacher  must  be  what  he  teaches   his  pupils 


no    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

to  be.      But  still  above  yourself  hold  up  Christ  as  the  one 
and  only  perfect  model. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 


BOYHOOD    AND    GIRLHOOD 


I.  Physical  Development 


1.  Growth  Less  Rapid 

2.  Girl  More  Precocious 

3.  Less  Subject  to  Disease 

4.  Training  Period 


1.  Curiosity 

2.  Imitation 

3.  Playfulness 
IL   Mental  Development     ^   4.  Imagination 

5.  Memory 

6.  Reason 

7.  Faith 


III.   Moral    and    Religious 
Development 


1.  Vivacity 

2.  Interest  in  Nature 

3.  Biography 

4.  Natural  Affections 

5.  Imitation  and  Example 


III. 


YOUTHHOOD. 

The  period  of  youthhood  is  variously  fixed  by  different 
customs  and  countries.  In  the  United  States  adolescence 
extends  from  fourteen  to  twenty-five  for  the  male,  and  from 
twelve  to  twenty-one  for  the  female.  It  describes  the  pe- 
riod of  the  beginning  of  manhood  and  womanhood  to  the 
completion  of  physical  growth.  It  is  a  period  of  great  im- 
portance to  parents  and  teachers,  and  should  be  carefully 
and  thoroughly  studied.  We  may  treat  this  period  as  we 
have  the  two  preceding  periods,  and  notice  : 


YOUTHHOOD  III 

/    Physical  Youthhood. 

If  this  were  observed  and  studied  more,  and  the  laws  of 
growth  and  physical  development  more  carefully  regarded, 
the  health  and  longevity  of  the  race  would  be  increased. 
A  few  characteristics  of  this  period  may  be  interesting  and 
helpful. 

1.  The  growth  of  the  body  as  a  whole  is  less  rapid  in  this 
period.  The  average  growth  of  both  sexes  in  the  last  period 
(from  seven  to  fourteen)  was  about  thirty-one  per  cent,  in 
height,  in  weight  ninety-four  per  cent.  ;  in  this  period  it  is 
an  increase  in  height  of  a  little  less  than  ten  per  cent.,  and 
in  weight  about  forty-three  per  cent. 

2.  But  the  male  in  this  period  grows  more  than  the  fe- 
male. We  have  found  previously  that  from  birth  to  seven 
the  male  grows  the  faster,  and  from  seven  to  fourteen  the 
female  grows  the  faster.  In  this  period  it  is  reversed 
again.  In  the  earlier  period  the  growth  of  the  male 
in  height  is  thirty  per  cent.,  and  in  weight  eighty-four 
per  cent. ,  while  that  of  the  female  is  thirty-four  per  cent, 
in  height,  and  one  hundred  and  four  per  cent  in  weight. 
In  this  period  the  growth  of  the  male  in  height  is  four- 
teen per  cent.,  and  the  female  a  little  more  than  five  per 
cent.  ;  and  in  weight  the  male  sixty  per  cent.,  while  the 
female  is  only  twenty-five  per  cent.  The  brain  weight  in 
this  period  is  increased  very  little. 

3.  While  the  externals  of  the  body  grow  less,  the  in- 
ternal organs  grow  more  in  this  period,  especially  the  heart, 
lungs,  and  liver.  The  muscles  grow  by  new  fiber  and  in 
length,  the  quantity  of  blood  is  increased.  In  the  earlier 
periods  the  heart  is  smaller  and  blood  vessels  relatively 
larger,  in  this  the  reverse  is  true.  The  heart  beats  slower 
in  this  period  but  with  more  intensity.  The  rate  of  breath- 
ing is  slower  but  deeper.     The  temperature  of  the  body  is 


112    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

also  increased.     The  hair  grows  ' '  darker  and  glossier,  the 
eyes  brighter,  and  the  complexion  clearer." 

//.    Mental  Yonthhood. 

We  have  seen  that  in  childhood  and  in  boyhood  and 
girlhood  certain  characteristics  are  prominent  and  hold 
sway,  so  here  certain  characteristics  of  human  nature  are 
prominent,  and  when  properly  regarded  and  used  greatly 
affect  the  whole  being.  The  being  is  the  same,  but  the 
personality  becomes  more  distinct.  A  child  is  more  an 
organ  than  a  person,  but  here  individuality  becomes  more 
pronounced,  for  this  period  terminates  in  maturity.  It  is 
marked  by  characteristics  not  found  in  the  others. 

I.  //  is  the  social  period.  The  social  instinct  first  ap- 
pears in  the  attraction  of  one  sex  for  the  other.  Boys  and 
girls  play  together  and  study  together  without  thinking 
much  of  themselves  as  male  and  female.  But  as  the  ado- 
lescent period  arrives,  they  begin  first  to  be  shy  of  each 
other,  then  strive  to  please  each  other.  New  emotions  and 
passions  begin  to  possess  them  and  change  their  whole 
bearing  toward  each  other.  New  views  and  objects  of  life 
arise.  Both  sexes  begin  to  be  more  careful  about  their  dress 
and  personal  appearance  in  each  other's  presence.  They 
are  fond  of  bright  and  gay  colors  and  jewelry.  Give  a 
child  money  and  its  first  thought  is  to  buy  sweetmeats  or 
candy  ;  give  it  to  a  young  girl  and  her  first  thought  is 
something  to  adorn  herself  with.  These  traits  need  culture 
and  direction  by  parents  and  teachers.  Sunday-school 
teachers,  especially  in  city  mission  schools,  may  use  their 
influence  with  pupils  of  this  age  to  good  advantage,  teach- 
ing, however,  more  by  example  than  precept.  Teachers  of 
the  opposite  sex  from  the  pupils  are  often  more  successful 
in  this  grade.  There  is  no  time  in  life  when  guidance  is 
more  needed  than  at  this  time. 


YOUTH HOOD  II3 

These  social  yearnings  of  youthhood  are  God-given  and 
healthful,  and,  if  properly  encouraged  and  used,  beautify 
and  ennoble  character,  and  thus  become  a  blessing  to  soci- 
ety and  the  world.  Let  them  be  brought  under  the  best 
moral  a:  d  religious  influences.  Young  girls  and  boys  fail 
to  get  the  sympathy  and  guidance  they  need  at  this  period 
of  their  lives.     Better  be  guided  than  left  to  chance. 

2.  //  is  the  altruistic  period.  The  altruistic  feeling  is 
care  for  others.  It  naturally  rises  here,  and  if  cultivated 
and  directed  leads  away  from  the  spirit  of  selfishness  to  the 
spirit  of  self-denial  for  the  sake  of  others.  It  finds  many 
examples  and  illustrations  in  the  great  men  and  women  of 
the  world.  The  parents  of  Savonarola  designed  him  for  a 
physician,  but  in  early  youth  his  deep  sense  of  the  general 
evils  of  the  world  and  the  special  evils  of  the  church  of  his 
times,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  in  other  directions,  led  him  to 
be  a  reformer.  '  •  George  Eliot,  at  sixteen,  founded  socie- 
ties to  help  the  poor  and  care  for  animals. ' '  Tolstoy  con- 
ceived the  idea  in  youth  of  becoming  a  great  humanitarian. 
While  a  young  man,  Benjamin  Franklin  founded  the  first 
public  library  in  Philadelphia  ;  and  Peter  Cooper  resolved  to 
give  boys  and  girls  in  New  York  a  free  education,  if  he 
ever  became  rich.  "At  sixteen,  Ida  Lewis  saved  the  lives 
of  four  men  who  were  adrift." 

Let  teachers  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  this  trait  in  the 
young  men  and  women  under  their  influence,  and  turn  it  to 
good  account  in  their  lives.  It  is  this  kind  of  material  in 
young  men  and  women  that  makes  the  greatest  and  most 
successful  missionaries,  as  statistics  show. 

3.  It  is  the  period  of  creative  imagination.  The  great 
poets,  artists,  musicians,  and  dramatists,  distinguished 
themselves  in  youth,  which  shows  that  their  creative  imagi- 
nation was  their  characteristic  trait.  Bryant  wrote  "Than- 
atopsis"  at  seventeen.     Whittier's  poetic  genius  was  dis- 

H 


114        HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   WORK 

covered  and  brought  out  by  reading  Robert  Burns  when  he 
was  fourteen. 

The  famihar  hymn, 

Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be, 

A  mortal  man  ashamed  of  thee, 

was  written  by  a  boy  ten  years  old,  Joseph  Grigg.  What 
is  true  of  poets  is  true  of  musicians.  "Handel  wrote  a 
mass  at  thirteen  and  directed  an  opera  at  nineteen."  Bee- 
thoven wrote  ' '  sonatas ' '  at  thirteen,  while  Weber  com- 
posed his  first  opera  at  fourteen. 

These  facts  may  be  used  to  encourage  and  stimulate 
youth,  as  well  as  their  teachers,  in  finding  their  strongest 
traits  and  encouraging  their  cultivation.  It  could  be  used 
in  greatly  improving  the  hymnology  and  music  in  our 
churches,  and  the  young  artist  put  to  work  illustrating  Sun- 
day-school lessons.  Davenport,  one  of  our  most  popular 
cartoonists,  would  spend  hours,  lying  on  the  floor,  when  a 
boy,  drawing.  Could  not  his  talents  be  useful  in  other 
fields  as  well  as  in  politics  ? 

4.  //  is  the  mnbitious  period.  Biographical  history 
teaches  us  that  the  achievements  of  great  warriors,  states- 
men, and  philosophers  are  the  results  of  ambitious  plans 
laid  in  youthhood,  and  many  of  their  great  achievements 
were  wrought  out  before  they  reached  their  majority.  "The 
average  age,"  says  Professor  Dawson,  "  at  which  one  hun- 
dred heroes  of  the  American  frontier  became  distinguished 
was  a  little  over  seventeen  years  ;  and  at  which  one  hun- 
dred professional  men    achieved    success   was    twenty-four 

years. ' ' 

///    Moj'al  and  Religious  Youthhood. 

Satan  has  created  the  impression  in  many  minds  that  re- 
ligion is  something  that  is  needed  only  when  we  come  to 
die.      This    error    is    closely   related    to    another,    popular 


YOUTHHOOD  II5 

even  among  professing  Christians,  that  the  object  of  the 
Christian  hfe  is  that  one  may  go  to  heaven  when  he  dies. 
The  truth  is  we  need  rehgion  all  through  life  to  prepare  us 
for  the  "life  to  come."  Of  all  periods  in  life,  youthhood 
seems  to  need  it  most.  Professor  Dawson  quotes  "the 
greatest  living  psychologist"  as  saying  :  "If  there  were  no 
such  thing  as  religion,  we  should  have  to  invent  one  in  order 
to  save  young  men  and  young  women  from  the  dangers  of 
adolescence. ' ' 

My  observation,  as  well  as  established  facts,  has  taught 
me  that  youthhood  determines  largely,  and  in  very  many 
instances  wholly,  what  the  whole  after  life  will  be. 
Strange  to  say,  youthhood  determines  often  one  of  two  ex- 
tremes, morally  or  religiously,  or  if  it  does  not  either,  it 
settles  the  individual  down  into  a  state  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes that  practically  is,  in  the  end,  as  bad  as  the  worst 
extreme.  Three  things  characterize  the  youthhood  of  our 
present  day. 

I.  It  is  the  criminal  period.  This  is  not  the  result  of 
sudden  impulse.  It  usually  begins  in  disobedience  to 
parents,  then  practising  deception  upon  them  and  their 
teachers,  then  giving  way  to  youthful  emotions  and  pas- 
sions, undl  the  worst  types  of  immorality  are  found  among 
our  fast  young  men  and  society-intoxicated  girls.  I  have 
visited,  several  times  in  my  life.  State  prisons,  and  am 
always  impressed  with  the  sad  fact  that  a  majority  of  the 
inmates  are  young  men.  The  prevalence  of  crime  in 
youthhood  is  seen  also  in  the  fact  that  the  State  has  been 
led  to  establish  reform  schools  for  both  boys  and  girls. 
According  to  the  census  of  1890  there  were  in  the  reform 
schools  of  the  United  States,  fourteen  thousand  juvenile 
offenders.  Out  of  twenty-six  thousand  arrests  in  Paris  in 
one  year,  sixteen  thousand  of  them  were  under  twenty 
years  of  age  !     How  is  this  sad  condition  of  youthhood  to 


Il6    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

be  improved  or  remedied  ?  Not  by  increasing  the  police 
force  and  building  more  prisons,  but  by  awakening  in  the 
heart  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  God.  This  must  be  done 
too,  before  the  sensibilities  are  blunted  and  deadened  by  sin. 
This  fact  brings  us  to  an  opposite  statement. 

2.  Youthhood  is  the  period  of  co7iversion.  Religious 
consciousness  is  awakened  at  this  time  of  life  more  easily  ; 
religious  impressions  are  more  readily  made  and  are  more 
lasting.  I  have  taken  the  record  of  large  audiences  fre- 
quently, with  uniformly  the  same  result.  The  great  ma- 
jority of  persons  are  converted  before  they  are  twenty  years 
old.  Of  seven  hundred  and  seventy-six  graduates  from 
Drew  Theological  Seminary,  the  great  majority  were  con- 
verted between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen,  the  larg- 
est number  falling  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  years. 
Of  five  hundred  and  ninety  members  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
sixty  per  cent,  were  converted  between  fourteen  and  twenty, 
and  seventy  per  cent,  under  twenty.  These  figures  are 
from  an  article  in  the  "National  Evangel,"  by  Professor 
Dawson.  Observation,  statistics,  and  my  own  experience, 
show  me  that  between  the  age  of  twelve  and  twenty  is  a 
natural  time  for  religious  awakening  in  the  human  soul. 
And  if  this  natural  awakening  is  not  taken  advantage  of  by 
Christian  teaching  and  influence,  there  is  a  tendency  to  go 
to  the  opposite  extreme.  Yet  if  the  young  are  not  con- 
verted to  Christianity  and  there  has  been  sufficient  moral 
teaching  coupled  with  a  hereditary  tendency  that  is  good, 
the  young  will  settle  down  into  another  state — a  state  of  in- 
difference, which  will  characterize,  religiously,  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives.  Hence  I  announce  my  third  and 
last  characteristic  of  youthhood  is,  that 

3.  It  may  lead  to  a  life  of  religious  indifference.  Indif- 
ferentism  is  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  and  dangers  of  a 
nominally  Christian  community.     The  life  is  not  criminally 


MANHOOD  AND  WOMANHOOD        II7 

bad,  neither  is  it  exemplarily  good.  The  person  in  this 
state  is  given  up  to  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  lives  only 
for  this  life,  and  hence  is  getting  all  out  of  it  he  or  she  can 
in  worldly  pleasure,  wealth,  and  fame. 

Our  conclusion  is  that  of  Solomon  :  "Remember  now 
thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil  days 
come  not,  .  .  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in 
them." 

The  Saviour  of  the  world  was  a  young  man,  and  they 
who  have  after  him  profoundly  moved  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  world  have  begun  as  young  men. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

YOUTH 


r  I.  Gi 

\    2.    M 

1 3.  Ci' 


Growth  Less  Rapid 
I.   Physical     -J    2.   Male  Grows  More 
3.  Growth  Internal 


II.   Mental 


1.  Social 

2.  Altruistic 

3.  Creative  Imagination 

4.  Ambitious 

Criminal  Period 


{2.   Period  of  Conversion 
3- 


III.   Moral    and 

Religious  I  J;   May^Le^ad^to'a'ufe  of  Indifference 


IV. 

MANHOOD    AND   WOMANHOOD. 

Much  is  said  and  written  in  pedagogy,  both  of  the  secu- 
lar and  Sunday-school,  concerning  the  three  periods  of  life 
already  considered,  because  these  are  the  school  periods. 
At  the  arrival  to  manhood  and  womanhood,   pen<?ns  are 


Il8    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

expected  to  leave  school  and  follow  the  various  pursuits  of 
life  for  a  livelihood.  But  in  the  Sunday-school  we  know 
no  period  of  graduation.  Men  and  women  should  study 
the  Bible  as  long  as  they  live.  Why  not?  When  they 
leave  the  secular  schools  they  are  not  supposed  to  give  up 
all  study,  but  are  only  prepared  to  study  independently  of 
teachers  and  schools. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  modes  of  thought 
and  manner  of  life  between  childhood,  youthhood,  and 
mature  manhood  and  womanhood.  Paul  said,  "When  I 
was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child, 
I  thought  (margin,  'reasoned')  as  a  child;  but  when  I 
became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things."  He  here 
recognizes  these  stages  of  development,  and  applies  them 
to  religious  life  and  a  cultivation  of  the  Christian  graces. 
We  are  writing  these  lessons  for  Sunday-school  teachers, 
largely  from  experience  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  special 
Sunday-school  work,  and  we  never  think  of  teaching  a  class 
of  children,  boys  and  girls,  young  men  and  women,  and 
adults,  especially  advanced  Christians,  in  the  same  way  ; 
yet  the  truth  to  be  taught  is  precisely  the  same.  The  differ- 
ence of  method  grows  out  of  the  difference  in  the  persons 
taught.  Two  extremes  that  are  not  uncommon  should  be 
avoided.  First,  attempts  to  teach  children  as  though  they 
were  adults,  and  second,  attempting  to  teach  adults  as  if 
they  were  children.  Adults  should  remain  in  Sunday- 
school  throughout  life,  and  their  teachers  should  regard  the 
peculiar  characteristics  and  experiences  of  their  advancing 
years. 
/    In  Manhood  and  Woma?ihood  Physical  Growth  Ceases. 

The  functions  of  the  body  have  reached  their  highest 
development.  The  only  change  in  the  body  is  that  of 
weio-ht,  caused  by  more  or  less  flesh,  or  disease.     The  body 


MANHOOD  AND  WOMANHOOD        II9 

must  be  kept  up.  Four  simple  rules  of  health  may  be 
helpful  here  both  to  teacher  and  pupil.  These  four  rules 
are  the  corner-stones  of  good  health.     Take 

1.  Pure  air.  The  laws  of  ventilation  should  be  under- 
stood and  observed  in  the  home,  especially  in  the  sleeping 
apartments,  in  the  schoolroom,  and  in  the  church.  In 
every  inhalation  and  exhalation  the  air  loses  one-sixth  of 
its  oxygen.  We  should  only  have  to  breathe  the  same  air 
six  times  to  instantly  die. 

2.  Wholesome  food.  As  soon  as  food  passes  from  the 
mouth  to  the  stomach  we  have  no  more  control  over  it. 
The  stomach  will  make  out  of  what  we  give  it  the  best 
material  it  can,  but  if  we  give  it  unwholesome  food  it  will 
make  unhealthy  bodies.  Some  kinds  of  food  make  muscle, 
some  make  brain  and  nerve,  some  bone,  and  some  fat.  We 
should  know  which  is  most  needed,  and  take  it  accord- 
ingly. Some  foods  create  more  animal  heat  than  others, 
and  hence  the  weather  should  to  an  extent  regulate  the 
diet  Old  age  requires  different  food  from  that  which 
youth  demands. 

3.  Proper  exercise.  Not  too  violent  nor  too  light,  but 
that  kind  of  exercise  that  affects  all  the  physical  organs 
and  keeps  them  strong  and  healthy  is  what  is  needed. 
Laborers  as  a  rule  get  enough  exercise.  Brain  workers  and 
indoor  laborers  need  more  outdoor  exercises. 

4.  Cultivate  a  cheerful  disposition.  You  can  worry  out 
your  life  quicker  than  you  can  wear  it  out.  The  family 
meals  should  especially  be  made  seasons  of  cheerfulness  and 
good  humor.  Cheerfulness  is  the  bright  weather  of  the 
heart.  No  matter  what  may  be  the  condition  of  the  ther- 
mometer or  barometer,  be  cheerful  at  meals  and  promote 
digestion.  Sunday-school  teachers  should  make  a  special 
effort  to  be  cheerful  during  the  school  hour.  It  is  good 
medicine  for  both  the  soul  and  body. 


I20    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

//   Intellectually y  Manhood  and  Woniatihood  is 
Characterized 

1.  By  7nore  mature  judgment.  The  teaching  here  must 
commend  itself  to  the  judgment  of  the  class.  The  teacher 
should  show  due  respect  for  the  opinions  of  his  class.  Each 
member  having  an  opinion  of  his  own,  there  will  naturally 
be  more  difference  existent.  More  liberty  in  discussion 
should  be  allowed  because  of  this.  Let  divergent  thought 
express  itself  The  lesson  often  should  take  the  form  of 
an  "open  parliament"  more  than  that  of  a  recitation.  In 
this  age  of  life,  students  in  the  Sunday-school  do  not  formu- 
late the  doctrines  so  much  as  they  are  confirmed  in  them. 
They  should  grow  into  "the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ ' '  ;  men  and  women  in  Christ. 

2.  This  period  of  life  is,  or  should  be,  characterized  by  a 
broader  and  more  general  intelligence.  If  men  and  women 
will  continue  to  study  and  read  all  through  life,  especially 
Christians,  they  will  not  be  so  apt  to  drop  out  of  the  Sun- 
day-school when  they  reach  their  majority  or  middle  life. 
This  general  and  broader  intelligence  may  be  made  very 
helpful  in  Bible  study.  If  our  churches  would  only  provide 
a  library  that  would  attract,  interest,  and  instruct  the  intel- 
ligent community,  or  organize  Chautauqua  circles,  or  other 
reading  circles,  it  would  help  to  hold  the  men  and  women 
in  the  Sunday-school. 

3.  Yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  manhood  and  woman- 
hood is  the  busy  period  0/  life.  The  business  activity  and 
competition  in  it  these  days  have  overworked  very  many 
persons  through  the  week,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  get 
them  to  the  Bible  study  on  Sunday.  We  may  reach  some 
through  the  Home  Department.  Many  enter  upon  this 
period  poor  and  are  raising  a  family,  and  if  they  have  a 
competency  for  them,  and  something  for  old  age  or  sickness, 


MANHOOD  AND  WOMANHOOD        121 

it  must  engage  most  of  their  time.  But  this  is  not  a  good 
excuse  to  give  for  neglecting  the  Sunday-school  and  Bible 
study.  Sunday-school  workers  must  recognize  these  facts 
as  necessarily  belonging  to  adult  life,  and  make  the  best 
they  can  of  them. 

4.  Manhood  and  womanhood  have  more  of  the  cares  of 
life  than  come  at  any  other  period.  The  care  of  a  family, 
the  care  of  business  enterprises,  the  care  and  responsibility 
of  laboring  or  managing  for  others,  the  care  of  public  duties, 
often  for  the  good  of  the  country  at  large,  and  a  thousand 
other  things  that  young  people  know  nothing  about.  All 
take  time  and  often  distract  thought.  The  Bible  school 
and  church  should  be  made  the  place  where  they  can  go 
and  find  sympathy  and  helpfulness,  which  would  give  va- 
riety amid  these  cares  and  burdens  of  life. 

///    Moral  a7id  Religious  Manhood  and  IVomankood. 

We  have  in  mind  here  our  scholar,  who  has  gone  through 
all  the  grades  of  the  school  as  a  child,  a  boy,  or  girl,  and  a 
youth.  He  has  been  converted  and  is  in  manhood  and 
womanhood  morally  and  spiritually.  I  present  this  view 
for  the  encouragement  of  both  scholar  and  teacher. 

I.  Manhood  and  womanhood  are  less  subject  to  temptation. 
Many  of  the  follies  of  youth  have  been  seen  and  interest 
therein  has  been  lost  ;  what  once  was  a  great  temptation 
has  now  no  power.  They  have  grown  in  grace  too,  and 
gained  power  to  resist  evil.  They  have  rebuked  Satan  so 
often  and  ordered  him  to  the  rear  that  he  has  found  it  of 
little  profit  to  tempt  them,  and  so  he  lets  them  alone.  They 
have  become  strong  in  the  Lord  and  are  now  able  "  to  bear 
the  infirmities  of  the  weak.'*  What  a  power  these  advanced 
Christians  can  be  in  the  church  and  Sunday-school. 

But  we  must  remember  that  mere  maturity  of  years  with- 
out maturity  of  knowledge  and  grace  does  not  give  Christian 


122         HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

Strength.  Paul  had  some  who  ought  to  be  able  to  eat  meat 
whom  it  was  still  necessary  to  feed  on  milk.  The  teacher 
must  discriminate  between  growth  in  years  and  growth  in 
grace. 

2.  In  manhood  and  womanhood  it  is  expected  that  Chris- 
tians shall  have  a  wider  and  deeper  Christian  experience. 
This  experience  can  be  made  very  helpful  in  teaching.  The 
teacher  should  often  appeal  to  the  "higher  life"  of  the 
advanced  Christian  which,  by  progressive  advancement, 
should  be  attained,  and  make  it  helpful  in  encouraging  the 
younger  and  weaker.  The  teacher  himself  should  have 
it,  and  then  he  can  be  a  spiritual  power.  There  is  probably 
not  enough  made  of  Christian  experience  in  our  Sunday- 
schools.  We  must  teach  the  heart  as  well  as  the  head. 
The  greatest  power  in  the  world  is  heart  power,  and  that 
is  the  power  of  experience. 

3.  Old  age  is  the  crown  and  glory  of  human  life.  It  is 
an  error  altogether  too  common  that  men,  soon  after  they 
pass  fifty  years  of  age,  begin  to  lose  their  mental  vigor. 
There  is  no  greater  mistake.  History  shows  that  a  few 
prodigies  have  accomplished  wonders  in  childhood  and 
youth  ;  but  they  soon  died.  They  lived  their  three-score 
and  ten  years  in  five  or  ten  years.  History  also  shows  that 
the  greatest  mental  achievements  have  been  won  by  men 
who  have  passed  the  meridian  of  life.  Examples  are  found 
in  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Bacon,  Hobbes,  Locke,  Kant, 
and  Reid.  This  may  be  shown  in  all  departments  of  life. 
With  proper  cultivation  all  through  life  superior  wisdom 
and  knowledge  attend  old  age.  We  find  here  a  stability  of 
character  that  is  lovely.  The  intelligent  old  man  rests  his 
views  on  a  broader  basis  of  experience  than  the  young  can 
know  anything  about.  Around  him  gathers  a  bright  con- 
stellation of  virtues  that  makes  his  pathway  shine  with  glory. 

But  that  which  beautifies  old  age  most  is//<?/y.      "The 


THE   SCHOLAR  S    WORLD 


123 


hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  glory,  if  it  be  found  in  the  way  of 
righteousness"  (Prov.  16  :  31).  But  if  it  be  found  in  the 
way  of  the  wicked  it  is  a  shame.  The  psahnist  says,  "The 
righteous  shall  flourish  as  the  palm  tree."  It  is  said  that 
the  palm  tree  bears  its  best  fruit  in  its  old  age.  So  does  the 
Christian.      It  is  the  harvest  time  of  life. 

The  physical  vision  of  the  old  man  may  grow  dimmer, 
but  his  vision  of  the  glory  land  is  brighter  ;  his  physical 
hearing  may  grow  dull,  but  the  sounds  of  melody  come 
more  distinctly  from  the  glory  world  ;  though  he  may  close 
all  the  windows  to  this  world,  he  opens  his  spiritual  senses 
to  a  higher  and  more  glorious  life  beyond  where  he  par- 
takes of  the  ' '  Tree  of  Life. ' ' 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 


MANHOOD    AND    WOMANHOOD 


I. 

Physical 


1.  Growth  Ceases 

2.  For  Good  Health 


r  I.   Pure  Air 


2.  Wholesome  Food 

3.  Proper  Exercise 

4.  Cheerful  Spirit 


r  I.  More  Mature  Judgment 

II.  J  2.  Broader  Intelligence 
Intellectual     ]  3.  Busy  Part  of  Life 

[  4.  Cares  of  Life 

III.  r  I.   Less  Subject  to  Temptation 
Moral  and      \  2.   Deeper  Christian  Experience 

Rehgious       (  3.  Old  Age  Crown  and  Glory  of  Life 


THE   SCHOLAR  S   WORLD. 


The  scholar's  world  is  where  he  "lives,  moves,  and  has 
his  being,"  his  daily  surroundings.      And  as  we  have  seen 


124         HANDBOOK    ON    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    WORK 

that  he  learns  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  world  outside 
of  his  own  consciousness  and  that  he  is  largely  molded  by 
the  influences  of  his  environment,  the  great  question  for  us 
as  teachers  to  consider  is,  What  world  ? 

Although  often  only  a  few  squares,  in  the  great  city,  from 
each  other,  the  teacher' s  world  and  the  scholar' s  world  may 
be  as  far  apart  as  were  Lazarus  and  Dives.  No  teacher  can 
be  successful  who  does  not  study  his  scholar's  world.  He 
must  know  the  influences  under  which  his  scholars  are 
living,  whether  good  or  bad,  for  these  forces  are  either  sup- 
plementing his  instruction  or  undermining  it.  The  teacher 
who  studies  only  the  lesson  will  fail. 

I.    What  is  the  Scholars    World? 

1.  His  home  world.  He  came  into  this  world  in  his 
home.  His  eyes  first  opened  upon  mother  and  father. 
The  first  influences  exerted  were  in  his  home.  These  influ- 
ences began  before  the  Sunday-school  teacher  had  anything 
to  do  with  him.  They  have  more  power  than  the  influence 
of  teacher.  He  is  under  them,  especially  in  his  earliest  life, 
seven  days  in  the  week.  The  home  life,  with  all  its  influ- 
ences, good  or  evil,  enters  into  him  and  becomes  a  part  of 
his  being.  No  institution  has  so  much  influence  in  forming 
the  character  of  the  young  pupil  as  the  home.  If  the  home 
is  what  it  should  be,  and  the  child  can  be  kept  under  its 
influence,  it  will  be  a  great  blessing  and  help  to  the  teacher. 
But,  alas,  we  all  know  that  often  too  soon  the  child,  and 
especially  the  boy,  gets  beyond  his  home  world.  In  fact, 
he  must  get  beyond  it.     Then  we  find  him  next  in 

2.  His  school  world.  That  is,  in  the  secular,  or  public 
school.  Here  he  spends  one-third  of  his  waking  hours, 
and  what  the  "teacher  says"  or  does  in  this  school  to  him 
is  law.  The  day-school  teacher  may  be  the  most  helpful 
ally  that  the  Sunday-school  teacher  can  have,  or  his  worst 


THE    scholar's    WORLD  I  25 

antagonist.  I  have  known  one  skeptical  secular  teacher  to 
poison  the  minds  of  the  whole  community  of  young  people 
by  sowing  in  them  the  seeds  of  unbelief. 

3.  His  social  world.  The  companions  of  childhood  exert 
a  great  influence  in  the  formation  of  character.  Every  child 
has  two  classes  of  companions,  those  older  than  himself  and 
those  younger  than  himself.  The  older  class  are  his  teach- 
ers ;  he  is  constantly  imitating  them.  What  they  are  and 
do  he  wants  to  be  and  do.  The  younger  companions  are  his 
pupils.  He  is  to  them  what  the  older  ones  are  to  him,  and 
like  all  other  teachers,  he  hands  down  to  the  younger  what 
he  gets  from  the  older.  If  the  older  companions  are  bad, 
how  soon  is  their  influence  felt  among  the  younger  ! 

In  his  social  world  the  pupil  finds  his  recreations. 
Recreation  is  necessary.  Children  must  and  ought  to  play. 
Some  plays  are  harmless,  some  are  doubtful,  for  they  lead 
to  bad  companionships,  while  others  are  positively  sinful. 

4.  His  literary  world.  All  children  and  young  people 
read.      Some    are   great   readers.      The   great   question    is. 

What  do  they  read?  What  we  read  shows  what  we  are, 
because  our  reading  helps  to  make  us  what  we  are.  Many 
lives  have  been  made  a  blessing  or  a  curse  to  the  world 
by  it  All  books  are  either  helpful  or  harmful,  and  the 
child  and  youth  will  be  made  better  or  worse  by  what  they 
read.  What  a  mistake  many  Sunday-schools  make  by  fur- 
nishing the  scholars  only  a  few  lesson  helps,  especially 
country  schools,  when  our  bright,  illustrated  Sunday-school 
papers  would  quicken  mind,  touch  and  impress  heart,  and 
help  to  form  character  for  usefulness  and  happiness.  Every 
church  and  Sunday-school  should  have  a  good  librar)\ 

5.  His  street  world.  Between  the  scholar's  home  world 
and  school  world  lies  his  street  world.  This  is  the  school 
of  all  who  live  in  town  or  city,  for  they  must  go  on  the 
street     The  pure,  innocent  girl  or  boy  must  often  pass  the 


126    HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 

open  saloon,  the  vile  show  bills,  hear  profanity  and  vul- 
garity, witness  quarrels  and  fighting,  meet  drunken  men 
and  base  women.  This  school  of  the  street  is  a  great  edu- 
cating influence  on  the  characters  of  our  youth.  Fortunate 
the  boy  and  girl  who  are  born  and  raised  in  the  country, 
and  are  not  compelled  to  attend  this  school. 

II.    The  Duty  of  the  Teacher  in  Relation  to  the 
Scholar' s  World. 

1.  He  should  know  the  scholar' s  world.  As  the  environ- 
ment of  the  scholar  is  a  part  of  his  life,  the  knowing  of  it  is 
involved  in  a  knowledge  of  the  scholar.  The  teacher 
wants  to  know  the  good  in  the  scholar  s  world  to  use  it,  and 
the  bad,  to  try  to  correct  it.  He  should  know  the  influence 
that  the  scholar's  home,  school,  companions,  books,  and 
the  street  is  having  upon  him — what  is  helpful  and  what  is 
harmful.      To  know  the  scholar's  world, 

2.  He  should  go  into  the  scholar  s  world.  It  cannot  al- 
ways be  learned  by  hearsay.  No  matter  what  the  differ- 
ences may  be  between  the  teacher's  own  home  and  the 
homes  of  his  scholars,  he  must  go  into  the  scholar's  home. 
Both  will  be  greatly  benefited  by  the  visit.  The  teacher 
gets  acquainted  with  the  parents  of  his  pupils,  and  becomes 
interested  in  them  and  they  in  him,  or  her,  as  most  likely 
it  will  be.  A  single  visit  to  the  home  of  the  scholar  will 
often  be  a  revelation  to  the  teacher. 

3.  He  should  utilize  and  improve  the  scholar' s  world. 
A  wide-awake  teacher,  by  regular  excursions  to  the  scholar's 
world,  will  observe  much  that  will  be  useful  in  his  teaching. 
He  can  make  much  use  of  what  he  finds  that  is  helpful,  and 
have  an  opportunity  to  improve  the  surroundings  of  his 
pupils  by  getting  them  away  from  their  evil  companions. 
Especially  may  he  help  the  working  classes  by  getting  boys 
into  employment  where  their  whole  world  may  be  changed 


THE    scholar's    WORLD  12/ 

for  the  better.  Working  girls  may  often,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  their  Sunday-school  teacher,  be  placed  in  good 
Christian  homes  instead  of  encountering  the  temptations  of 
hotels  and  boarding  houses. 

4.  He  should  adapt  his  teaching  to  the  scholar' s  world. 
This  is  an  essential  matter.  He  must  go  into  the 
scholar' s  world  and  begin,  because  he  can  begin  nowhere 
else.  The  more  illustrations  he  can  draw  from  his  scholars' 
surroundings  the  more  he  can  interest  his  class.  Pupils  like 
to  be  told  what  they  know  as  well  as  what  they  do  not  know. 
A  very  popular  lecturer  gave  to  a  friend  the  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess thus  :  said  he,  "I  find  out  what  the  people  want  me 
to  tell  them,  and  tell  it."  Children  like  to  have  the  teacher 
draw  from  their  sources  of  information. 

5.  Finally,  the  teacher  should,  as  much  as  possible, 
live  hi  the  scholar' s  world.  If  he  goes  into  the  scholar's 
presence  only  for  an  hour  on  Sunday,  and  that  to  deplore 
his  condition  often,  and  dismiss  it  from  his  mind  until  the 
next  Sunday,  living  only  in  his  own  world,  which  may  be 
at  a  great  distance,  figuratively  speaking,  he  will  never 
bring  his  pupil  out  of  his  world. 

While  the  teacher  may  not  be  able  to  visit  his  pupils 
through  a  whole  week  or  more,  in  his  mind  and  prayers  he 
can  live  with  them  in  their  humble  world.  Jesus  said  to 
his  disciples,  when  he  went  away  nineteen  hundred  years 
ago  :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
age."  Jesus  still  lives  in  this  world  with  his  people,  and 
we  realize  his  presence  with  us,  comforting  and  guiding  us. 
In  the  same  sense  must  the  Sunday-school  teacher  con- 
stantly live  in  the  world  of  his  scholars.  By  so  doing,  after 
a  while  he  will  be  able  to  bring  them  into  his  world,  just 
as  Jesus  came  down  into  our  world  that  he  might  lift  us  up 
to  his  world.  Just  as  he  came  we  must  go.  "As  thou  hast 
sent  me  so  have  I  sent  you,"  he  said.    This  is  the  church's 


128 


HANDBOOK  ON  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORK 


commission.  No  difficulty  should  daunt,  no  condition 
forbid.  Into  any  world  Christ's  servants  should  enter  that 
they  may  redeem  therefrom  rich  trophies  of  his  grace. 

BLACKBOARD  EXERCISE 

THE    scholar's    WORLD 


I.  What  Is  It?  ^ 


1.  Home 

2.  School 

3.  Social 

4.  Literary 
^  5.  Street 


II. 


Teacher's  Duty 
Toward  It 


1.  Know 

2.  Go  Into 

3.  Utilize  and  Improve 

4.  Adapt  Teaching  To 

5.  Live  In 


Princeton  Theological  Seminat7  Libraries 


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